Expecting
by Anon1718
Summary: Tensions are high in the realms and despite efforts to the contrary, war looms on the near horizon. Spyro and Cynder have already built a life for themselves in Warfang however and worryingly find themselves trapped between sides. When Cynder discovers something quite unexpected in the process, their lives are changed forever...
1. Prologue

**Ten years have passed since the defeat of Malefor and peace reigns over the lands. Warfang has been rebuilt and is thriving as the hub of trade and influence as it once was long ago. Today, Spyro continues his legend by travelling as an ambassador to Warfang and to a more general extent- dragon kind. Many conflicts have already been averted thanks to his work and he is widely hailed as a hero for his efforts. He and his friend- now mate, Cynder, live together in a modest accommodation block in a discreet part of town. Always one to seek action and adventure, Cynder also picked a career of service on behalf of the city council. Her role in the grand scheme of things is to deliver messages and occasionally the odd delivery to the various settlements of the land, as well as offering advice on military strategy and logistics. As of recently, Spyro has been called away more and more frequently, and for longer lengths of time. Nobody seems to know anything about it, but Cynder is suspicious...**

* * *

Another day was coming to a close in the great dragon city of Warfang. Far away, the warm afternoon sun inexorably started its descent below the horizon. The whole sky burned orange, reflecting everything in a pleasant rosy glow. Buildings seemed to shimmer in the fading light, occasionally glowing in the flame of a dragon's breath as torches were lit across the city, preparing for the coming night.

Finding herself in a prime position to observe this beautiful evening, a young dark scaled dragoness named Cynder sat on the outer city wall alone. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The air smelled of peace, but it did nothing to calm her restlessness. Her emerald eyes watched the sunset with a mild disinterest, her thoughts elsewhere entirely. For a time she sat still, watching and waiting. Eventually, a discontented sigh escaped her lips and she pawed at the stonework beneath her feet, flicking her tail back and forth with impatience.

 _I should just go home_ , She thought miserably, _He's not coming back tonight either._

With a grunt of effort, Cynder got to her feet and stretched. Her muscles were cramped and ached painfully for having sat still for so long. It was with great reluctance that she took one final glance at the skies- with no hint of purple in sight, before turning back towards the city.

 _How long has it been since I've seen him?_ Cynder wondered. _Must be at the very least two or three months..._

"Where are you, Spyro?" She asked solemnly, to nobody in particular. Her voice was quickly carried away by the wind, as if in an attempt to silence the question.

 _It just wasn't fair!_

Cynder kicked a small stone and watched it fly off into the distance. Even the guardians wouldn't tell her anything about this latest "trip" Spyro was on! She hated nothing more than being kept in the dark, it left her worrying about his safety all day and all night- what might have gone wrong or what could she have done to help him better, that sort of thing. So many unanswerable questions!

She sighed again and approached the corner of the rampart. Spreading her wings wide, she leapt into the air by kicking off from the wall, flapping her wings in a lazy glide back towards the main city. For a while she was lost in the solitude of flight. All her troubles seemed temporarily far away, out of mind. She hummed in contentment and found a hesitant smile working its way onto her face as she angled towards the upper terraces. The golden tipped buildings glinted in the fading light.

Cynder landed with her usual grace not more than a few minutes later. She trotted silently across the cobblestones underfoot, unnoticed amongst the various other creatures making their way home as well. Darkness was beginning to fall, but it was easy enough to find the particular door in the huge terrace of buildings that she was looking for. Reaching into her satchel, Cynder fumbled with the key and eventually managed to open it with her nose. The familiar oak door swung open with barely a squeak.

Once inside Cynder flicked the lock closed with her tail, a well practised motion, then stepped into the main entrance where she paused for a moment. The whole house was deathly silent and she found found it hard to suppress the urge to sigh again. Her eyes felt heavy with tiredness, despite the early hour. A yawn escaped from her mouth unbidden.

"Don't suppose you're back before me?" She asked half-heartedly, unclasping the buckle for the satchel. It dropped to the carpeted floor with a dull thud and she rolled her shoulders, pleased that her scales hadn't been chafed too badly by the rough fabric.

After a suitable pause she snorted and flicked her tail, "Didn't think so..."

The tired dragoness found herself something to eat as a snack- leftovers from earlier, then retired to the bedroom, sprawling out on one of the many cushions laid about the place. The moonlight streaming in through the windows gave the room an almost ethereal beauty and for a time, she was content to doze peacefully.

However, she found herself being woken in several uncomfortable hot sweats throughout the next few hours- during which she tried moving cushions in a vain attempt to get comfortable. Cynder wasn't sure how much time passed in this manner, but at some point during the early hours of the morning she found herself snapping awake again, feeling even more restless than before. She was hot and bothered and no matter how she tossed and turned, couldn't get back to sleep again.

Groaning with annoyance, she wearily got up to open the windows in order to let some fresh air in. The cool night breeze blew in immediately and it felt wonderful. She poked her head outside and rested it on the windowsill. She wondered if she might be coming down with something, since the house never normally felt this stuffy. A quick glance in the window at her blurred reflection confirmed that her cheeks were flushed and scales slick with sweat.

"Why now?" She pouted, wiping her forehead with a paw. "Ancestors, all I want is just a full night's sleep, I've got a busy day tomorrow..."

Suddenly, the unmistakable metallic sound of the front door lock being manipulated caught her attention. Freezing on the spot, she lowered her body to the ground and as quietly as possible she paced through the rooms to get a closer look. Her heart began to race, though she forced herself to stay calm through sheer willpower alone. A million possibilities raced through her mind as to whom it might be or what they wanted. She hadn't heard a single knock though, so she safely assumed that it couldn't be anything good. She crouched in the shadows where she had the element of surprise and waited patiently.

Several tense moments passed and Cynder watched with baited breath as the handle eventually moved and a dragon stepped inside, closing the door behind them. They had two long golden horns, faintly glinting in the moonlight- but all other details were obscured in the darkness. She waited patiently as the dragon moved close enough to touch and then she pounced with all her might, tackling the intruder to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Gah! Stop!" the intruder pleaded.

Before she could even strike with her raised paw, she noticed something odd about the intruder, but she couldn't quite place it. The adrenaline rushing through her veins made it take longer than normal for her to decide what to do. Eventually she sniffed the air, noticing a familiar scent.

"Spyro?" She asked sceptically, tilting her head.

The dragon underneath her was obviously very surprised, his breath coming in short sharp pants. His violet scales glistened in the meagre moonlight filtering in from behind her and her eyes widened with surprise and recognition. She lowered her paw, seeing his familiar smile staring back at her. A moment passed of uncertain silence.

"Cynder! By the ancestors, you scared me..."

Before another word was uttered, she nuzzled underneath his chin and cried out in joy, wrapping her arms around his chest in a tight hug. In return, she felt his playful kisses on her cheek and they both laughed out loud, wrestling for a few moments before untangling themselves. She waited patiently, tail waving back and forth in a poor effort to disguise her excitement.

"Sorry about that..." She mumbled rather sheepishly. "You should have knocked!"

Spyro simply chuckled and got to his feet as well. His eyes shone brightly with amusement. "At least I know the house is well guarded. I'll have to keep that in mind!"

She laughed at that and after wrapping a wing around her, Spyro led her back into the bedroom where they snuggled closely together with their tails entwined- just happy to be in each other's company again. _Ancestors, there was so much that she wanted to ask, so many things she wanted to say!_ His comforting embrace was all she needed at that point- everything still had an air of unreality to it, she still couldn't believe he was really back. It had been so long!

"It's okay, try to get some rest..." He said softly, noticing her unease. He caressed her cheek with a paw. "You look pretty tired."

She only smiled in response, a million questions still hanging on the tip of her tongue. She couldn't spoil the moment like this though. Instead she simply sighed and nodded sleepily, "Okay..."

He smiled lovingly, holding her closer to his chest. The rhythmic beating of his heart steadily soothed her into a light slumber.

Something changed in the next few minutes however because Cynder found herself being abruptly woken in surprise as Spyro pushed her over, pinning her to the ground underneath him. Before she could even utter a yelp of protest she was silenced as he met her lips in a long, passionate kiss. When he withdrew, she saw that his eyes sparkled with mischief.

"You know, you smell really good..." He purred, nibbling lightly at her neck, causing her to gasp and moan. She scowled indignantly with embarrassment and tried to push him away, but he wouldn't budge. His grin only grew wider as her expression narrowed in frustration.

"You uh, got something on your mind there?" She asked with a bemused smile, eventually giving up. He simply resumed by kissing at her neck and she jumped with the unexpected thrill of excitement sent tingling down her spine.

"Oh, just you..." He replied with a sly smirk.

They shared another long kiss, during which she took in several deep breaths of his scent. It was strange- the smell was more vibrant, more muskier, than she remembered. She wriggled underneath him with excitement. It was like she'd never quite appreciated it properly before. It made something stir unwittingly deep inside her- a previously dormant instinct, an irresistible _desire_ , that sent a burning fire racing through her veins. A haze descended over her mind, leaving her totally unable to resist his teasing any further. Her breathing quickened, her heart hammering away furiously- every sense seemingly razor sharp all of a sudden. Every fibre of her being longed for more.

"You've still got some explaining to do, _mister..._ " She stammered in a moment of calm, resting a paw on his chest to steady herself. It took a few seconds for them to catch their breath. Being the only sound in the room, their excited panting echoed loudly.

"How come you never wrote to me once in all this time?" She asked quietly, "What was so important that you'd forget about me?"

Spyro shirked at the accusatory tone in her voice. He hesitated for some time and then simply leaned closer for another kiss, holding her gently. She wanted nothing more than to scold him for such an obvious evasion, but in the end- their desires could no longer be ignored. She let it slide.

"I didn't forget you." He said softly, his expression serious, "Don't worry, I'll explain later..."

He then easily flipped her back over, putting her right back to where he wanted. She couldn't help but laugh at his unusual _forwardness_ and was forced to grunt as the air was almost squeezed out of her body. All further words were lost between them from that point, instinct guiding them. In one of the last brief gaps in which their lips became unconnected, it became obvious to Cynder that what happened next would be certainly something wild indeed. If she were being honest though, she didn't mind in the slightest...

* * *

It was early in the morning when Cynder stirred, still half-asleep. Spyro's lips kissed her cheek tenderly and he said something, but she could only manage a tired grunt in response. It was too early, far too early. She drifted off, only to be woken again several hours later by the sun shining in her face. Her eyes fluttered open slowly and to her horror, she found herself in a scene of total and utter destruction that made her jump upright in confusion and alarm. Her mind struggled to make sense of it.

Everywhere, torn cushions and wrecked ornaments littered the floor. Harsh claw marks were dug into the walls and for the first time, she became aware of the various aches and pains all over her body, as if she'd been bitten repeatedly. She looked around in dismay, noticing with further shock that Spyro wasn't there anymore.

"What...?" She mouthed silently, trying to take it all in. Faint memories of the previous night slowly began to trickle in and she looked down at the ground in shock, ashamed that she was _partially_ to blame for it. To her surprise, she couldn't remember most of what happened. From the evidence though, things looked to have seriously gotten out of hand. A goofy smile found its way onto her face and she couldn't help but giggle. _Ancestors, that was crazy!_

"Hey, Spyro?" She asked, attempting to steady her voice, "Are you home?"

Nothing. Cynder flicked her tail with annoyance and after giving the room a quick once-over just to be sure, stepped into the main hallway. A quick glance outside the window confirmed that the sun way already high in the sky. She groaned- knowing already that she was going to be late for her job today. She continued to walk the house groggily, eventually stumbling across what looked like a hastily written note placed by the door. She unfolded the parchment and laid it flat, scanning the runes with curiosity:

" _Cynder,_

 _I had to leave early. I tried to explain but you looked so happy snoozing, I couldn't bear to wake you._

 _I know you won't like this so I'll be blunt; I have to leave again on another assignment today._ _I can't talk about what I'll be doing in writing, so you'll just have to trust my judgement on this for now. I only want what's best for you, but sometimes secrecy is the price I have to pay for working with the council. I'm sorry._

 _Cynder, I know all of this has been difficult for you. Things will get better soon though, I promise. Just please don't take it out on Terrador, it's not his fault I asked for this role as Warfang ambassador. If you need anything, he'll help you as much as he can while I'm gone. I trust him and you should too._

 _PS. I'm really sorry about last night. I really don't know what came over me... I hope in time you'll be able to forgive me._

 _I'll write soon, I promise. This time will be different._

 _Love you- Spyro"_

Cynder stepped back, uncertain of how to feel about this new information. Her first reaction was to re-read the last few lines in disbelief. Despite the fact he had left without giving her a chance to say goodbye, she knew in her heart it must be for a really good reason. She trusted him implicitly and if the positions were reversed, she knew that he would do exactly the same for her. It didn't make it feel any better, though. The familiar pangs of loneliness suddenly returning in force made her heart almost physically ache. Tears welled in her eyes.

"Dammit, Spyro!" She cursed.

She took some time to re-read the whole note carefully to make sure it had sunk in properly and then eventually sighed, softly caressing his signature on the parchment with a finger. She eventually smiled hopelessly and then shrugged it off as best she could. _So be it._

Today was just another day, she told herself. _I've still got a job to do, like it or not..._


	2. Questions

The Warfang city skyline came into view on the far horizon at last, like a precious jewel glinting atop a mountain peak. The individual buildings were difficult to make out at this distance, but the familiar golden sheen was unmistakable. Cynder grinned and flapped her wings with renewed determination, soaring through the skies with a grace that none could hope to match. To anyone on the ground she would appear as an indistinct blur, diving and weaving around the low-lying clouds playfully. It was the ultimate freedom and she lived for moments like these!

After a few minutes at a mad dash, Cynder spread her wings wider and climbed over the cloud layer, allowing momentum to carry her in a glide for a few short moments while her muscles rested. She imagined the look on her boss' face when he found her returning so much earlier than normal- he probably wouldn't believe that she'd just done two days of work in a few hours!

 _I always live up to my promises,_ She thought. _I'm almost home and I've done everything he asked, he'll hopefully forget about me being late!_

By her right hip, Cynder's trusty satchel suddenly shook in the tailwind and for a moment threatened to break away until she angled her body more carefully into the airflow. It brought her back to full alertness at once and she mentally scolded herself for being so inattentive. _It wouldn't do her any favours loosing a vital message at this point would it?_

With more care now, she eventually landed in the courtyard outside the city council offices. The buildings here were remarkably simple for Warfang standards- a dull sandstone topped with shallow golden spires. What was not obvious from outside however was the huge underground system of tunnels and chambers below where the real decisions took place. She knew it was all far too easy to get lost down there, as had occurred to her several times in the past. She shuddered with the thought.

Because of the time of day Cynder unfortunately found herself spending a lot of time queuing, stuck amongst the hundreds of dragons, moles and other bipedal species constantly coming and going. It must have taken her at least half an hour just to get inside and even longer to reach the entrance to the department of external affairs- the department to which she was employed.

The whole essence of this department, she mused, could be summed up in a single word; _bureaucracy!_ Oh yes, the ornate decorations and pretty golden tapestries hung from the stone walls looked nice, but the hundreds of desks laid across the far wall and the gloomy atmosphere pervading the place made her scales itch. This was not a place she could stay inside for any great length of time without wanting to scream in frustration.

As she waited to be processed, Cynder saw moles wearing the golden uniform of the city guard wandering the line, strutting about the place with an arrogance that irritated her to no end. They were ostensibly carrying out "routine" inspections of bags and work passes to anybody that seemed remotely in a hurry, obviously taking their time to complete said checks. Sometimes they would stop a dragon or cheetah purely for no other reason it seemed than to enjoy inconveniencing somebody. To navigate this place in any expedient manner it was like you had to own every single type of identification paper known to dragon kind. Luckily, she had played this game for long enough to know how to minimise such delays.

"Work permit?" Came the question at last, "Identification?"

The mole didn't even bother to look up from her desk which was probably for the best considering Cynder had been gritting her teeth with frustration for being ignored for so long. With a scowl she slammed the bits of paper to the desk and took great delight in seeing the surprised expression appear on the mole's face as she read the documents with haste.

"Oh, well... everything seems to be in order!" The mole coughed, handing the documents back a little too quickly. "Welcome back miss Cynder."

Without replying she snatched the papers back and made a beeline for the official council courier desks. The moment of surprise on the duty manager's face was short lived and without so much as a "thank you", she was told to come back tomorrow for another job. At this point she didn't really care too much- she was helping the city and was being paid for doing it, so she couldn't honestly complain. As a bonus, he hadn't even thought to scold her for being late! _Success!_

Exiting the building was far easier and once in the sunshine again, the knot of tension in her stomach loosened somewhat. Technically she now had the rest of the day to do whatever she wanted and for once, she hadn't planned this far ahead. Deciding on a whim to go for a walk, Cynder spent the next hour or so silently wandering the meticulously maintained city gardens nearby. The scents of the various flowers and exotic plants reminded her of simpler times, it brought a smile to her face. The serenity of this place was unmatched and she eventually found herself walking in a half-daze, wandering wherever the path led her.

One thing Cynder didn't expect to bump into however was an old friend as she rounded a corner in a hedge maze some time later. Clutching something small in his tiny hands, Cynder watched with a smirk as the golden dragonfly in front of her worked away, clipping the odd leaf or stray twig from the otherwise pristine hedging. Now _this_ was some good teasing material! Who knew Sparx had a job as a _gardener_? It took every bit of her self control not to burst out laughing right there and then.

Deciding to cough to reveal her presence, the laugher finally escaped as Sparx scrambled to hide his clippers and pretended to be hovering innocently in front of her. He smiled and waved, but it was obvious he'd been caught out.

"It uh... it ain't what it looks like..." He tried to explain. The clippers fell to the ground accidentally as he fumbled and she watched in mock surprise, eyes wide.

"Wow, I didn't know you had green fingers Sparx!" She grinned, enjoying how he squirmed under her gaze, "It figures they'd send you out here with that big mouth of yours, maybe now they'll have some peace and quiet at last."

Sparx frowned, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, like I need advice from the _evil one_. All you know how to do is kill people! This stuff on the other hand is the work of an artist! Who else better than me to show 'em how its done?"

She laughed and lifted the clippers back to him on the end of a claw, which he took with annoyance. Despite her teasing, it really was good to see him again. It must have been at least several months since they last met. It was unfortunate that he never seemed to stick around when Spyro wasn't home, which was a shame. She enjoyed verbally sparring with him greatly, his wit was second to none and it always made for an interesting conversation without exception.

"How are you doing anyway?" She asked more amicably, "We missed you at the victory celebrations last month."

Sparx lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head and he avoided her gaze for a moment. She thought she saw a hint of unease in his expression but it vanished too quickly for her to be certain. "I had some stuff to do back home. You know, back in the swamps. Pops needed me and Spyro was busy so..."

Cynder waited for more but when it became apparent that was all he was going to say, she changed tact, smiling again. "He came back last night- Spyro that is. We didn't have much time to chat but he looked good. Did he catch up with you at all?"

Sparx seemed to relax at the change of subject and nodded. "Yeah I saw him just before he left. He was in a real big hurry for something but he wouldn't tell me what." He folded his arms and frowned again, "To tell you the truth though Cyn, I'm worried. He puts a brave face on it, but I can tell something's bothering him. There's something going on he's not telling us."

Cynder raised an eyebrow and hummed in thought for a moment. "I didn't think about it before but yeah, I kinda got the same impression. He wrote me a note saying he'd be gone for a while but that he couldn't tell me why in writing." She tapped a paw on the ground pausing to think. "I wonder what's gone wrong this time? Knowing Spyro he'll be diving right into the middle of it all like usual."

Sparx chuckled and nodded again, "Yep, that's my big brother all right. Always trying to solve everyone else's problems. I just wish he'd tell us more about what's going on so we can help. Even heroes have their limits, you know?"

They talked for a little longer but eventually Cynder made her excuses and left, feeling slightly cheerier than before. She shook her head in amusement, chuckling to herself. _A Gardner! Wait until Spyro hears about this!_

After a quick stop at home to pick up some money, Cynder then headed out to the markets to find something to eat for dinner. As per the norm business was booming at this sort of time and it was difficult to find a place to land safely amongst the surging crowds. She circled for a while but eventually landed in an opening not too far away.

Time began to pass slowly as she spent the next half hour or so wandering the stalls, nothing particularly taking her interest. It all smelled and looked the same, there was never anything new! Suddenly, she heard her name being called. Looking up, she spotted her pink-scaled friend Ember waving her over. They'd known each other for years, so it was with a knowing smile that she trotted up to talk to her where the noise of the streets wasn't so loud.

"Cyndie! Long time no see!" The other dragoness cheered happily as she approached, tail waving about without restraint. She leaned forwards and gave Cynder a friendly nuzzle, her icy blue eyes wide with excitement. "How are you? What brings you out this side of town?"

Cynder chuckled and motioned with a paw to the market stalls behind her. "Spyro ate all of my stuff this morning before he left so I'm stocking up again. How about you?"

Ember smiled sympathetically and giggled. "Oh, that's just _so him_. He does this every time to you doesn't he?" Cynder couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"How's Flame doing?"

Ember waved a paw dismissively and looked away, suddenly bashful. "Ah...well, I think he's mostly okay. He's been acting all silly though recently- I think the pressure is getting to him. These latest exams have put him under a lot of stress. I found out last night that he copes mostly by breaking stuff!"

Cynder balked, surprised. "He went for it? The fire guardian apprenticeship?"

The pink dragoness simply nodded and sighed. Her tail fell to the ground sadly. "Yeah, he got a letter about a week ago, offering him the place. I try to help him but there's not much I can do. You'd probably be a better motivational speaker than me, at least you can understand what he's going through. I can't really relate to it."

Cynder paused in thought for a moment. _Now that was a surprising twist of events!_

For some time now, she regarded Flame's talk of doing it as just that- talk. It was a major commitment that would tip his normally carefree life on its head. The timing was intriguing to her as well since the current guardian of fire, Infernos, was already widely considered too old for the job. Whether or not that replacement could be Flame, Cynder couldn't honestly say. He'd certainly need to get his act together!

Ember suddenly hopped on the spot and her expression lit up with excitement again, as if the last few minutes hadn't even happened. "Oh, oh! I know, why don't you have dinner with us tonight? We could use the company. It'd be great!"

"Er, sure." Cynder agreed after a second, smiling. "That'd be nice. I'd like that."

"Great! How about you head over and I can finish off up here?" She indicated with a nod towards a half-stuffed satchel on the ground nearby, "I've just got to get a few more things then I'll be right there."

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you in a few minutes." Cynder replied. Ember simply dipped her head and waved as they went their separate ways.

It was just as the sun began to set that Cynder found their home after much hopeless wandering in the unfamiliar part of town. Her stomach growled with emptiness. Flame with his ruby red scales answered the door when she knocked and enthusiastically waved her inside, offering her a seat at their table. Ember returned shortly thereafter and they ate together happily, swapping stories and gossip just like old times. The hours just flew by in a pleasant blur. The only missing link was Spyro and things felt odd without his presence. It was Ember that noticed this first.

"It's weird without Spyro, isn't it?" She eventually remarked, "I wonder what he's doing now? Did he tell you anything about it Cynder?"

Cynder shook her head and explained the note he'd left her, to which Flame frowned and hummed in thought. He seemed to want to say something, but waited until there was a gap in conversation before leaning forwards and looking between them both. They waited patiently for him to speak.

"I heard something about what Spyro might be doing when I was in the temple training today," Flame explained, "I didn't hear every word, but when Terrador was talking to Cyril they were discussing some kind of dispute between the gryphons and a far away dragon settlement over hunting rights or something. Sounded to me like somebody had gotten hurt over it and that's why they probably sent Spyro."

Ember gasped and held a paw to her mouth. "The gryphons? What are they doing telling us what to do all of a sudden? Who got injured and how?"

Flame just shrugged and leaned back on his haunches. His tail flicked back and forth with indifference. "I'm not sure. They went into an office and I didn't hear anything else after that. I bet there's more to it than that though. Why else keep it a secret?"

Cynder nodded in agreement. "Yeah, these sort of disputes happen all the time. But if it was just that though, why the secrecy this time? How come Spyro didn't want to tell me in his note? You're right, this is weird..."

The room fell silent for a few contemplative minutes. Cynder drummed her claws on the table and saw through the window that night had long since fallen. That surprised her, the time had passed far quicker than she thought. Unfortunately, even after trying to prolong her stay as much as possible Cynder eventually had to leave purely because of good manners and bade them both a goodnight. Ember promised they would catch up again tomorrow.

By the time Cynder managed to stumble through her own front door about half an hour later, she was utterly shattered. She needed no further persuasion once reaching the bedroom to collapse in a heap and almost instantly fall unconscious . Her dreams were pleasant ones, filled with happiness and mostly, Spyro...

* * *

 **AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the mostly filler chapter this time, next one should hopefully be more interesting. Just wanted to ask the more savvy people to this site; is this chapter length too short or just about right? Am I doing okay? Never posted a story here before! Let me know in a review or PM, any constructive criticism is welcome!**


	3. Suspicions

Cynder slumped to the floor, sighing in blessed relief as the weight was taken off her aching paws at last. She wriggled her toes and purred, greatly enjoying the opportunity to finally get comfortable at last. A whole week had come and gone in a blur of activity, she'd barely had any time for herself at all! The council had been dispatching messengers and couriers like mad and she'd found herself caught up in it, flying back and forth until her wings felt like they would almost fall off.

It was some small comfort then that she happened to come home that night and find a little brown envelope addressed to her sitting by the door. It was in Spyro's handwriting. She had been too preoccupied with tidying the house and performing her other duties to read it before, but the time now seemed right to give it a look. She stared at it for a moment and grinned excitedly.

With great care, she tore open the seal with a claw and laid out the paper on the carpet next to her head. Rolling to her belly she scanned the text and found herself giggling, her heart giving a small flutter as she saw her name written at the top.

 _Oh stop it,_ _you're being silly_ , She scolded herself. She settled comfortably to read it, flicking her tail back and forth eagerly.

" _Cynder,_

 _I'm just writing to let you know that I've arrived safely. There were a few misunderstandings and delays because the locals call this place something else but I got there eventually!_

 _Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you that it's definitely been worth the effort- we're making really good progress here and I should hopefully be back in no time at all. Maybe in as little as a week or so if all goes smoothly._

 _How are you getting on? Have I missed anything exciting since I've been gone? Not a lot of news reaches here and I miss you terribly. I wish I you could see this place, it's beautiful. Ancestors willing we can visit it together someday. I think you'd like it._

 _Please write back as soon as you get this. The place is called Avion._

 _Love you so much! I can't wait to see you again,_

 _Spyro"_

Cynder read the letter several times until she was certain she hadn't missed any hidden information. She scowled slightly, her earlier optimism tainted somewhat. It disappointed her that he hadn't told her anything she didn't know already. Once again, he was also being infuriatingly vague. On the other paw, she sighed, at least she knew he was safe and where he was. It was a start.

 _But what was really going on there?_ She had to wonder. _There must be something else to it but he's not telling me!_

" _Avion_ , huh?" She pondered out loud, "Can't say I've heard of that place before."

Curious now, she put the letter down and wandered to the far side of the room where Spyro kept a map of the realms tucked away in a drawer. It didn't take long to find. In the moonlight she traced a claw across the waxy surface but try as she might, she couldn't find the place he was talking about. The combination of her tiredness and poor lighting made her eventually give up and she laid herself back down again, quickly scribbling a reply to take with her to work the following morning:

" _Spyro,_

 _Thanks for letting me know how you're doing. I really appreciate it. I just wish that I could help you more. Being stuck here in the city while you're off doing ancestors knows what makes me worry that I'm not doing enough to support you as a mate should. Next time I'm not putting up with this sort of nonsense. I'm going to go with you and I don't care what you do or say about it. We've been through a lot worse than whatever it is you're doing now, I'm sure of it._

 _As to how I'm doing? Well, I suppose that work has been keeping me busy enough. There's plenty of it to go around at least, the council is really going into overdrive with sending out urgent messages all of a sudden. Nobody seems to know why though, even my boss hasn't a clue._

 _Something interesting happened the other day actually, now that I think about it. Did you know that Flame is trying out for the fire guardian apprenticeship? I wasn't sure what to think at first, but I'm sure he'll do just fine. He's certainly determined enough and he has the right attitude, so that's a start at least._

 _One thing Ember has started doing is inviting me round for dinner every night. I guess she feels sorry for me. It's kind of become half routine now- whenever we happen to bump into each other in the markets she'll ask me to stay over, and who am I to refuse? It's really nice of her, it almost feels like old times again._

 _Whenever I stop to think though, I realise that I'm missing a huge part of my life and that part is you. I just wish you'd come home soon and tell me what's going on, it's selfish of you and the guardians to keep me in the dark like this and I don't like it. Don't I deserve to be trusted too?_

 _Also, you're not off the hook for what you did when we last met. There's no way you're just having your way with me like that and leaving afterwards with no explanation as if nothing happened! Mark my words, purple boy. I'm your mate for ancestors sake and I expect to be treated with the respect I deserve._

 _You better have a good explanation when you get back._

 _Love you as always,_

 _Cynder"_

Satisfied that he would now understand her feelings adequately, she smiled as she imagined his reaction and folded the letter up carefully. She placed it on a small side table where she wouldn't forget it. Tired as she was at that point, it wasn't difficult for her to drift off to a well earned sleep.

* * *

Spyro took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, thoroughly enjoying the rich mountain air.

The fog from the previous days had passed some hours ago, revealing a stunning vista outlined perfectly in the bright morning sun. Everywhere he looked, huge snow capped behemoths towered over them, making the nearby dragon village seem insignificant in comparison. They were so large, they easily put the tallest mountains in Avalar to shame. Some of them seemed to grow vertically from the earth, often from a standing start. He just couldn't have imagined such a place existing before today. He was truly mesmerised.

"Whoa.." He said out loud, mouth agape.

"It's great isn't it?" Eagerly commented his companion, a young shadow dragon named Ferenth. His Warfang guard armour glinted in the sunlight, contrasting vividly with his dark scales.

Spyro smiled to himself. Each time he looked at Ferenth, he saw a reflection of himself from ten years ago. Here was a young teenage dragon wanting nothing more than to prove his worth, doing something he strongly believed in.

 _The world,_ thought Spyro, _needed more dragons like him..._

The two drakes stood together by the brow of the hill they were camping at for some time, waiting for the town elders to sound the bell signalling that the hour had passed. When it did only a few minutes later, Spyro looked to his companion seriously and was pleased to see the young dragon standing rigidly to attention.

"I'll meet you back here in two hours." Spyro eventually said, "Whatever you're doing out there, don't be late in getting back."

The shadow dragon nodded briskly, bringing a paw to his chest in a proud salute. "I wont be late, sir!"

"And please, be careful!" Spyro added with a hint of worry, "It was hard enough to explain where you were the last time..."

Ferenth grinned, promptly disappearing into the shadows. He only left behind a faint wisp of black smoke to show he was ever there at all. Spyro waited a moment and then dug his claws into the grass below, concentrating with his earth element to find the subtle vibrations that might tell him where Ferenth was going. It turned out to be a pointless attempt however, he soon lost the trace entirely and he allowed the flow of mana to cease with disgust. He cursed with frustration.

 _Just what was he up to?_ He wondered with a frown.

Spyro had initially been summoned here to deal with some kind of dispute between a dragon named Tharos and a gryphon called Edbur. Such disputes were common for dragons living on the frontiers in towns like Avion, so he wasn't overly concerned to begin with. He had been making good progress until unexpectedly Ferenth had arrived a few days ago, making Spyro feel somewhat suspicious about the council's true intentions.

Despite Spyro's prying and constant questioning, Ferenth was ultimately sworn to secrecy- his orders were kept securely under an elemental lock to which only he could access. Whatever the council's agenda was here, Spyro knew it was a very dangerous game to play- especially with gryphons involved. He didn't like it one bit. He'd been their unwitting pawn for months already in a wider game he still did not understand himself. If Cynder had heard anything about this sort of clandestine work, she'd be furious- and rightly so!

 _Spyro planned to have some very serious words with the council when he got back!_

The purple dragon flicked his tail with agitation several times and then headed down into the village, smiling at the several hatchlings staring back at him in awe as they played their games in the street. The adults however barely gave him a second glance. For once, he didn't mind.

The people living here, Spyro had found, were kind enough. They were very tough however- mostly just because they had to be in order to survive. Their way of life was _difficult,_ to say the least. Farming here was impossible with such harsh frosts and chilling winds, so regular hunting and trading with the gryphons was how they coped. The smell of freshly cooked meat was a common occurrence and as soon as he caught the familiar scent, his stomach growled hungrily.

"Maybe later..." He muttered to himself, licking his chops.

Spyro focused his attention on his destination in the distance- a remote outpost situated on a strategic hill. It was a place which both the dragons and gryphons used regularly to observe the surrounding valleys in relative safety. He had been summoned there this morning by none other than the local gryphon chief himself. He had been ruling over this part of their kingdom for decades and as far as Spyro understood, he was well respected and judged to be a fair ruler. At this sort of time of day, Spyro knew he was going to be early though- so he took his time wandering up the constantly meandering path, just admiring the scenery as he went.

At the top, Spyro was surprised to see that the battered stone building was being guarded by two armoured gryphons, with their weapons arranged in such a way to block him- or anyone else, from entering. The way the heavily polished metal on their chest plates glinted in the sunlight only amplified their intimidating presence. They didn't even look at Spyro or pay the slightest attention to anything else as he approached silently.

 _If they want me to wait that's fine too,_ Spyro thought. Patience was a virtue that dealing with gryphons almost mandated, so he settled on his haunches and passed the minutes slowly by watching the goings on in the village in the distance. He did not speak or otherwise make eye contact with the gryphons during this time, for he knew even the slightest sound or body gesture had the potential to cause insult. The details on the disagreement between the gryphon and dragon from the village had been sketchy so far, but as far as he was aware, his suggestion that the dragon be punished severely for insulting the gryphon had taken well up until this point.

 _What had changed?_ He wondered, brooding in silence.

Some time later, a single gryphon emerged from inside the building. Spyro sat upright instantly, watching intently. The guards standing outside raised their weapons and fell into a tight formation with the gryphon who was no doubt some kind of leader. In fact, Spyro recognised this particular gryphon as the local tribe elder who had given him so much trouble from before. His intelligent sapphire eyes almost immediately stared at him with all the distaste and anger only an enraged gryphon could muster. Spyro tried not to flinch. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realised this was part of the sophisticated and complicated game of diplomacy that they had been playing for the last few days.

 _It wouldn't do well to show signs of weakness now..._

"This sort of treachery will not go unanswered, _dragon!_ You will see!" He huffed, ruffling up his feathers in anger before turning away down the road, ever so dignified. Spyro waited until he had disappeared and then cautiously approached the entrance. He knocked carefully and the response was almost immediate.

"Enter!"

Stepping inside, Spyro bowed before the clan chief and made sure that his wings were locked tightly against his body- to show he came in peace. The gryphon clicked his beak a few times in apparent surprise and then bowed in return. Spyro's knowledge of their customs seemed to please him greatly. Besides the clan chief stood an old earth dragon, the village elder of Avion. He smiled warmly in greeting. Between them was a low table, a fire crackling lightly in the background.

"Manners! One thing I do not always expect from a dragon!" The gryphon chief said with a hint of amusement. His eyes then narrowed slightly and he motioned to a cushion nearby, apparently laid down for visitors such as him.

Spyro allowed a small smile to play on his lips and he settled comfortably, wrapping his tail tightly against his feet. He did not speak, only waiting for the chief to explain the reason for his summons. He felt the gryphon's eyes staring at him, but Spyro was a patient dragon and he knew how to play this game as good as anyone.

At last, the gryphon clicked his beak again and seemed to relax somewhat, reclining into his own cushion. His expression lost some of its earlier arrogance and he tapped a talon at the table a few times before speaking, seemingly unsure of where to begin.

"I appreciate your coming here so quickly, Spyro. But I'm afraid you might be too late."

Spyro met his gaze and quite innocently tilted his head. The village elder flashed him a look of warning.

"What do you mean too late? Would you explain, please?"

The gryphon leaned closer, looking concerned. "The gryphon you saw leaving now? That was Edbur's village elder. He has just declared to us that Edbur wishes to challenge this dragon you call Tharos to a duel to the death, in order to settle this dispute once and for all. Your earlier settlement was not accepted as viable by his father, and I am compelled to bow to his wishes in this matter."

Spyro raised his eyebrows in surprise. _Were things this serious? Ancestors! All this from a simple misunderstanding..._

"Well, are there any other options?" Spyro asked carefully. "You know we can't allow such a thing to happen to a dragon and I also doubt Tharos or his parents would agree to it."

He suddenly blinked, remembering something else.

"Tharos is also not even of age yet, if I recall correctly?" The elder dragon nodded to indicate it was so. "In that case, is there is some other method of appeasing Edbur's father? Some harsher punishment, perhaps? Tharos is still regarded as a child to our people and I wouldn't see him hurt because of something he didn't understand."

The gryphon chief suddenly slammed his talons to the table, his eyes flashing dangerously with anger.

"There are no alternatives! This whole incident- it is a stain on Edbur's family and village honour. The shame will be unbearable to them if I dismiss this claim, the political consequences unthinkable! If for instance word reached my king that a dragon had slighted the honour of one of his subjects and was excused for it, his blood-lust would be insatiable!"

He took a moment to survey both dragons with his beady eyes, letting his message sink in.

 _Ancestors above! Was he threatening them?_

"Unless you have another solution, _dragon,_ I propose that we allow the challenge to stand and allow them to finish things once and for all- with honour. It will be better off that way and we can avoid any unnecessary... _complications..."_

Spyro bit the corner of his lip and looked away for a moment. The Elder dragon met his eye and he could tell the exact same thoughts were going through his mind as well. Things were rapidly becoming unwound, they had to do _something!_

"Is there not some kind of compromise that would allow his honour to be regained?" Spyro asked. "Some concession, other than death, that would satisfy Edbur's claim?"

The chief reclined once more, thoughtfully stroking his chin. The room fell silent for a tense moment. "There might, but I doubt that you would accept the terms."

Spyro narrowed his eyes and leaned closer, staring at the gryphon intensely. "If there is any other alternative, we must consider it properly." He looked to the Avion representative, "Do you agree?"

The elder dragon inclined his head. "Of course, we must weigh out any options available to judge their merits. Elaborate, please."

The gryphon hesitated for a moment, looking between them both. "The dragon in question must leave Avion and be revoked citizenship, permanently. He would never again be allowed to speak to another of his species for as long as he lives and is condemned to be alone for the rest of his years. This is the price a gryphon would pay for dishonourably declining such a challenge. Edbur's honour would be regained in this way."

The dragon elder growled in displeasure at those words, but Spyro remained impassive. The gryphon seemed to have more to say, so they remained quiet after he regarded them with a glare of irritance.

"Do not misunderstand me, I do not wish for this to happen either- but what choice do we have? You must understand, honour is everything to a gryphon. Without honour, a gryphon is nothing to his people, worse than being dead! This is the life that Tharos must choose to accept unless he faces Edbur in combat and claims his freedom in a way our people can accept as legitimate."

Spyro sighed with unease. He studied the gryphon's expression carefully but saw no signs of deception there. It seemed that he genuinely believed this was the only way forwards.

"So, you say that this is how two gryphons would typically deal with such an incident?" He asked carefully, "We have still yet to prove with any certainty as to who is telling the truth. Fighting to the death seems a little premature, wouldn't you say?"

"Do you seek to insult me, Spyro?" He huffed indignantly, "How do you think law and order is maintained in my kingdom? We do not have any criminals or law-breakers because our law is absolute, our punishments just! Every gryphon knows his place and whenever there is any doubt, honour is settled in a way that the victor is undoubtedly the one more worthy to carry on his family name!"

The gryphon stood up at that point and frowned harshly at both of them, "I have often wondered why dragons have become so tame over the years, perhaps this is why! I do not see why I should stay to discuss these matters with those unwilling to listen!"

The chief almost left the room but Spyro held up a paw and bowed in forgiveness in his path, which made the gryphon hesitate. The elder dragon seemed surprised as well.

"Please, stay and listen for a moment. I just wanted to make it clear that we don't wish to undermine your laws and customs- we respect them as you must respect ours. We might not like them, but in this case we have to accept them."

The gryphon seemed placated by this statement and he sat down again, looking quite pleased with himself. The elder dragon was horrified, but Spyro shot him a quiet glance of urgency.

"However, considering that Tharos is a dragon and also under-age, I would like to at least fully understand what happened that night- both so that you and Edbur's family know truthfully if it is something worth spilling blood over, or even if his honour has been slighted at all! In this way, both our laws are upheld..."

The gryphon grunted and started into the distance. There was a long pause. He eventually spoke, though it was obvious he was hesitant.

"We do not wish to have any conflict with you, but my issue is this; how would you prove what happened? Without proof, you dragons will only believe Tharos, as we are similarly duty bound to believe Edbur. We will need something to base a judgement on!"

The elder dragon leaned forwards now, humming slightly in thought.

"Spellcasters" He suggested, "We could summon them to this place and use their powers to unwind the fabric of time, showing us everything in detail that memory can forget. There can be no doubt then..."

Spyro eagerly nodded. "That wouldn't take long at all, maybe even as little as couple of hours. Would Edbur be willing to wait that long for us to complete such an investigation?"

It took the three of them a great length of time, but eventually they came to an tentative agreement. They would first find the needed spell casters to perform an investigation- and once the evidence had been gathered, they would decide what action to take. For the moment therefore, the issue was resolved.

 _At the very least, it's a start._ Spyro thought as he left the building, feeling worn out. The cool breeze felt strange after being inside a warm room for so long, but on the other paw at least it brought him back to full alertness fairly quickly. He spread his wings and stretched, leaping into the skies with joy. It was around midday by this point, so he stopped to have a quick snack in the town before heading back to camp where he waited patiently for Ferenth to return.

As things turned out, Ferenth was late by nearly an hour. Spyro looked up from his daydream and spotted a disturbance in the air nearby from which the shadow dragon finally reappeared. Spyro let out a sigh of relief, noticing with alarm that the young drake looked rather shaken. He panted there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath.

"Well?" Spyro asked, getting to his feet. "What happened?"

"There are hundreds of them! Camped just on the other side of the mountains! I just barely got out of there! It was... it was..."

Spyro's expression tightened as the young drake suffered a brief coughing fit. He offered him a canteen of water from his satchel and he took it greedily, emptying the whole container in seconds. Ferenth dropped it to the ground soundlessly, but Spyro was too intent on getting answers to realise, his interest was piqued.

"What is camped on the other side of the mountains, exactly? What do you mean you _barely_ got out of there?" Spyro growled. "I told you to be careful!"

Ferenth avoided his gaze, obviously ashamed. He looked a little frightened too, perhaps realising that he had already said too much to explain away easily. "I carried out my orders as best I could, sir. Will you allow me to make a report to my superiors?"

Spyro realised he was standing in front of the tent at that point, which made him smile with an idea. He had no doubts he could overpower the youngling if he tried to force entry- so he asserted that it was time Ferenth finally told him what was going on.

"If you tell me what's happening here, I will. I've had enough of this nonsense. I'm not going to cooperate with the council anymore unless I have some answers. If they don't trust me, that's their problem. Do you trust me though?"

Ferenth hesitated, but nodded. "I trust you, sir..."

"Then explain!" Spyro retorted.

The young shadow dragon sighed and settled on his haunches.

"Gryphons, sir. A whole battalion at least! They sure aren't just here for some random training exercise..."

* * *

A knock on the door startled Cynder back to wakefulness and she jolted, suddenly on her feet. Her head was pounding with the most horrendous headache and the bright sun shining in her eyes made her wince. It felt like she hadn't slept at all, her whole body ached painfully. For a moment she swayed on the spot, her heavy eyelids threatening to snap shut again at any second. Then came another knock, making her jump again.

"Hold on, I'm coming!" She eventually yelled, clasping a paw to her forehead and immediately wincing with discomfort. It was a real effort for her to walk to the door and open it.

A few seconds passed while her eyes acclimatised to the sudden brightness outside. The hooded figure stood there though was instantly recognisable, thankfully. She tried to smile.

"Hunter!" She said softly, leaning against the door frame for support, "I wasn't expecting a visit today, what can I do for you?"

The furry feline bowed his head in greetings. He looked up into her eyes and unfortunately seemed to see right through her pretence of normality. His expression morphed to one of great concern.

"Are you well, Cynder?" He asked curiously, perhaps noticing how she swayed slightly with fatigue. "Should we talk inside?"

"I uh... yeah, I think that'd be a good idea." She agreed with a sigh, rubbing her forehead again. Something was really wrong with her but she hadn't the slightest idea what it could be. _I was fine last night!_ She scowled to herself.

Cynder led her visitor into the lounge and offered him a drink, to which he accepted gratefully. She took some time to make a favourite of hers as well, then came back into the room. Knowing that Hunter had a keen eye for detail, She positioned herself deliberately between him and the bedroom to keep Spyro's earlier little _indiscretion_ as much a secret as possible.

"So, what can I do for you?" She asked. "You don't come to the city very often, we've not seen you since what, the victory celebrations last month?"

Hunter nodded, taking a sip of his drink politely. She saw by the way his tail curled that he actually disliked the taste, but she kept this observation to herself.

"I was passing through the council buildings on business for the chief and a dragon named Tremor asked me to check up on you. When he explained that you'd missed two scheduled pick-ups today I grew concerned as well."

He smiled, tapping his cup with his fingers, "I can see now, that his concern was valid."

Cynder blinked a few times in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked tiredly, yawning. "What sort of pick-ups did he say I missed? Come to think of it, what time is it?"

Hunter simply smirked and briefly glanced out of the window. "I'd say around two or three hours past midday, give or take." His expression twitched with amusement as she obviously struggled to rationalise this fact. He was right, after all.

 _Dammit!_ She thought. _How could I sleep in so late?_ _I can't be late again!_

"Well It's been great to see you again but in that case I've got to run." She said apologetically, scrambling to her feet in a rush. "Did you see where I left my satchel? I don't remember..."

Hunter got up suddenly and rested a hand on her shoulder, causing her to stop before she could even walk another step. He smiled sympathetically.

"I wouldn't worry yourself with that, old friend. Tremor said to take whatever time you needed to get better if you're feeling unwell. I'm sure if Spyro were here, he would say the same thing. There's no point pushing yourself if you're not up to it."

He paused to examine her reaction and added rather diplomatically, "Everyone has their limits _,_ even you..."

"But..." She tried to argue. "I'm fine, I just slept in by accident. It happens!"

Hunter nodded in response, as if he had expected her to say as much. "The choice of course, is up to you. It is only but a message for the messenger."

He seemed amused by this turn of phrase and chuckled to himself, but she only frowned with distaste.

They exchanged pleasantries for a while but as soon as Hunter had finished his drink he excused himself politely and disappeared into the bustling cityscape once more. When she closed the door Cynder slumped to her haunches and felt a sudden wave of nausea pass over her body. She almost vomited on the spot, but forced herself to keep it down. It left a vile taste in her mouth and she threw the drink away with disgust.

 _Ancestors, Hunter's right!_ She thought with alarm, _There's no way I can fly for hours and hours like this, it wouldn't be safe_...

She then belatedly realised she was still sat in the hallway and groggily shuffled back to the bedroom, curling up comfortably in her favourite corner again. Her stomach eventually settled some time later, but she still felt absolutely shattered.

 _As soon as I feel up to it, I'm going to the doctors._ She asserted. _I've probably caught a bug from the last trip I did or something, there'll be something they can give me to help. For now, I'll just rest for a little bit..._

Too tired to think any further, she cuddled her tail tightly to her body and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **AN: Hello again! Thought I'd try a longer chapter this time. Thank you so much for the reviews/favourites/watches! As always, constructive criticism is welcome.**

 **Also, can anyone enlighten me to how this beta reading system works? If anyone wants to give it a try for this story, I'd be more than happy for the help. This is my first published story, after all!**

 **Thanks again dear readers! See you next time...**


	4. Answers

Spyro shuffled a little further up the ridgeline to get a better view. The effort of this normally simple task left him alarmingly breathless and weak. No matter how fast he breathed, there didn't seem to be enough air getting into his lungs. He'd been feeling slightly dizzy for at least half an hour, his head throbbing with a painful headache. He fought hard to concentrate on their task and stay focused but it was a loosing battle. His limbs were growing heavy with the cold and his mind was foggy with the lack of oxygen.

 _All these problems must be because we're so high up_ , Spyro realised belatedly. The winds up here were bitterly cold and had assaulted them with relentless determination ever since they set paw on this mountain, as if to punish the two drakes further for being in a place so dammed inhospitable. If the gryphon camp _was_ there, it was certainly well protected and hidden. Perhaps that was why it was here in the first place!

Spyro paused before cresting the hill at last. He looked to the shadow dragon behind him who was sat about twenty strides back.

"Hey, you doing okay back there?"

Ferenth looked similarly fatigued, but nodded in response with a weak smile and a wave of a paw. Spyro frowned with worry, but he had to turn his attention back to the valley below to make sure they weren't spotted. No matter how intense his stare however, the darkness and fogginess of the night was absolute and he couldn't see anything besides a faint red glow intermittently visible through gaps in the fog.

He sighed in disbelief and shared a look of defeat with his companion. _What were they going to do now?_ It had already taken them the best part of the evening for them to reach this spot, carefully avoiding patrolling dragons and gryphons alike through hours and hours of frustrating detours and slow marching. The gryphon camp was somewhere down there but they just couldn't see it!

Spyro suddenly jumped with surprise as Ferenth hissed in warning, motioning frantically for him to come back. Spyro frowned and dismissed his concern with a flick of the paw- there was just no way they could be spotted from this distance especially with this terrible weather. His confused brain couldn't understand the urgency in his actions.

"Spyro, get back, _now!_ " The young dragon whispered frantically once again, "Quickly!"

Far too slowly, Spyro realised that the fog surrounding the mountaintop was beginning to clear due to a change in wind direction. Not for the first time that night he thanked the ancestors that his companion was so alert and aware. He scooted backwards rather subdued. When a large enough gap in the fog finally appeared a moment later, Spyro found himself unable to believe what his eyes were seeing at first. The evidence was right there though, exactly where Ferenth had said it would be.

"Ancestors above..." Spyro whispered in disbelief.

Below them on the opposite end of the valley, the gryphon encampment was revealed at last. It extended for several hundred meters in in all directions in a sprawling mess of tents and other improvised buildings. Huge columns of black smoke rose high into the sky from dozens of camp-fires, illuminating in a flickering light the glinting of armour worn by gryphon soldiers milling about the place. The repetitive clanking of metal-on-metal echoed somewhat mutedly through the night air, occasionally punctuated by the harsh screeching of officers rallying their troops into some semblance of order. It was a terrifying but impressive sight.

Judging by the sheer number of gryphons Spyro saw, he estimated their total strength to be as many as two or three hundred. _It was a force more than sufficient to take the tiny dragon village of Avion with minimal losses_ , he summarised grimly.

The only question left to ask was _why?_ After all these years, he never imagined that he would see something like this again. It just didn't add up. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Spyro found himself rationalising that gryphons were nothing if not intelligent and calculating. They must understand what was at risk here!

 _There was something else to this,_ Spyro concluded. _What were they missing?_

"I told you they were there, didn't I?" Ferenth whispered. "Now come on, before they see us!"

Spyro took one final glance to commit what he saw to memory and then followed the young drake back towards the village, shielded by a projection of his shadow element to avoid being seen by the townsfolk. They were more than glad to get off that mountaintop but the rest of the journey still took them several painfully slow hours to get back to camp thanks to the never-ending detours they were forced to make around populated areas.

By the time they sat down, both of them were shivering profusely. Spyro breathed a lick of flame onto the fireplace they'd made earlier and they both sighed with welcome relief from the elements at last. It began to snow very lightly- but they paid it no mind. Instead, alone with their thoughts for some time, it was Ferenth that broke the silence first.

"We need to tell the council about this." The shadow dragon stated, "A courier is supposed to be arriving tomorrow morning. It might not be too late to save this village, Warfang can send reinforcements to help."

"No." Spyro growled, catching Ferenth off guard. He'd been thinking about this during the trip back and knew in his bones that escalating wasn't the answer to this problem. The gryphons would only respond in kind- and who knew where that would end up? There had to be a better way.

"We have to warn the village elders, tell them what's happening." Spyro asserted, "There's still time to prepare for an evacuation. We can't fight them outright, there's too many to be certain of victory. The dragons who live here would be slaughtered."

Ferenth studied his expression guardedly for a few moments. His tail swished back and forth with unease. As soon as Spyro got up to leave for the village however Ferenth stepped in front of his path, wings outstretched. His eyes glinted with defiance.

"I'm sorry sir, but it was part of my orders not to tell them anything, it's for their own good."

" _What?"_ Spyro retorted, dismayed that the young dragon could even dare to say such a thing. "You're putting lives at risk here, people could die! I'm not prepared to sit here and let that happen- forget what the council says! Step aside."

Ferenth avoided his gaze for a moment, obviously unsettled by the harsh tone of Spyro's voice. The shadow dragon held his ground though and spread his wings further, lowering his head determinedly. Spyro regarded him with curiosity, surprised.

"Think about it, sir." Ferenth insisted, "The council is right about this. You've seen the dragons who live here. You even got to know them. Do you honestly think that they wouldn't attack first if they knew the gryphons were camped so close? It's too risky to tell them- they could start a war! We have to report this and wait for help."

Spyro wanted to argue but found the words stuck on the tip of his tongue. At once, all his counter arguments fell to pieces. Annoyingly, the shadow dragon was right. He _did_ know the village elders and they probably _would_ fight back. Things could still escalate very quickly though if more dragon soldiers arrived and Spyro kneaded the ground uneasily, uncertain of what to do. There were only bad options to choose from.

"How did the council even know the gryphons were there in the first place?" Spyro asked with a hint of impatience, re-directing his anger towards the council, "Why didn't they do anything before now?"

Ferenth relaxed somewhat and allowed his wings to fold comfortably against his sides again when it became obvious that Spyro wasn't about to leave. He simply shrugged.

"I'm not sure, sir. I was sent to find out what their disposition was and report back. It wasn't something that I needed to know."

 _Well that figures,_ Spyro thought wistfully. C _ertainly sounded like the council..._

"So why did they send me here then?" He wondered out loud. "Was it just to distract the gryphons from what you were doing?"

The shadow dragon settled on his haunches near to the fire again and hummed thoughtfully for a moment. His intelligent ruby eyes suddenly lit up with revelation which caught Spyro's full attention.

"Forgive me for speaking plainly, sir, but I don't think it was an accident that the most powerful dragon in the realms happened to be here at just the right time for the gryphons to act like this. I mean, what are the odds of that?"

Suddenly, the simplicity of it all became obvious. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. Spyro laughed loudly without humour, startling Ferenth into jumping nearly a foot into the air in surprise. He wearily regarded Spyro as the purple dragon began to pace the camp in a failed attempt to keep his calm. His tail flicked angrily back and forth, kicking small clumps of dirt into the air.

"It wasn't about a simple dispute at all!" Spyro eventually spat with disgust. "It makes sense now, this must be what the council has been doing with me for the last few months!"

Ferenth tilted his head questioningly, still hesitant to approach. "What do you mean by that, sir?"

Spyro took a few deep breaths, calming himself by counting the seconds as they passed. It took him a moment to wrestle his unruly emotions back into check, but boy he was mad!

"The council knows that the gryphons respect me, maybe even fear me." He sighed, "That's why I'm really here, to keep them in check. Why else would the council send me here? It's to buy them some time. It's probably the only reason why the gryphons haven't attacked Avion already."

 _Ancestors, how many other assignments have they sent me on for situations like this without me knowing?_ He suddenly thought in dread. _I've worked with lots of shadow dragons before, I just didn't know they were from the council..._

Ferenth nodded hesitantly in agreement. He seemed to understand as well.

"All I can say sir is that I'm glad you're on our side. I've watched you in action before and truthfully, it's terrifying. The gryphons would be suicidal to take you on, even knowing that they outnumber you so badly. It makes sense that the council sent you here. They wouldn't dare do anything knowing you're defending the village."

"It doesn't mean that I like it though." Spyro huffed in immediate rebuttal. "Just because I have these powers doesn't mean that I'm a weapon for the council to use as they see fit. It's not right."

He halted and looked out towards the dragon village in the distance intently. The faint lights flickering through the waves of rolling fog reminded him of what was at stake. Reluctantly, he met Ferenth's gaze again.

"Look, I can't stop an entire determined army by myself, even if I wanted to." He growled, "This is just such a gamble! I can't believe they're playing with peoples lives like this and they didn't even dare to tell me! It's insane..."

In the moment of silence that followed, he saw the moonlight glinting off his companions dark scales and it reminded him faintly of Cynder. A sad sort of smile found itself working onto his expression. He missed her so much. She'd know what to do in this situation...

 _This is why the council forbade me from telling her anything of what I've been doing,_ He suddenly realised. _She would have probably figured it out right away. Ancestors, I should have trusted her!_

Spyro remained quiet, lost in thought and his own guilty conscience souring the mood significantly. Ferenth thankfully didn't pry any further and fell silent out of respect.

He stoked the fire with a paw and both of them settled down comfortably for the night. The rest of the evening passed slowly in a brooding and depressive kind of silence. Ferenth eventually started to drift off, obviously worn out from his earlier exertions. Before he could fall asleep Spyro poked the shadow dragon with a claw and he jumped back to wakefulness immediately.

"Go ahead and write your report." He said softly, "There's nothing else we can do now but wait and pray the ancestors are watching over us..."

Ferenth nodded and saluted sharply. "Yes sir!"

* * *

Morning came and with it, Spyro felt new hope. The warm sun caressed his scales comfortingly and for a while, he enjoyed the peaceful silence. The snow that had accumulated during the night had begun to melt already, revealing a beautifully renewed and glistening landscape underneath. Once Ferenth had emerged from his tent and donned his armour, they went to the brow of the hill together to see for themselves what had happened during the night.

With such relief it made him sag to the ground, Spyro let out a whoop of joy. Ferenth grinned happily. The village was still safe! Everything was so amazingly normal, with the villagers about doing their daily business with no obvious signs of hurry or concern at all. Spyro even spotted a few gryphons flying in and out as well. It was immediately obvious at that point that nothing was going to happen in the next few hours at least.

"Come on, let's go meet this courier of yours." He suggested with a smile.

Ferenth nodded and dutifully led the way, Spyro following several paces behind.

The spot they had picked, Ferenth explained, was far outside the village boundaries. It was in fact almost all the way back down to the end of the valley in the direction of Warfang- in order to minimise the courier's flight time. Spyro tried not to groan in annoyance. They had covered many miles the previous night and his paws still ached. Still though, he wasn't about to complain if he was the only one suffering!

The going as it turned out was was easy enough but they daredn't fly- lest anybody spot them. Once again Ferenth's shadow element helped to shield them from the casual observers on the road and Spyro was pleasantly surprised at how effective it was. Several times a dragon or gryphon would look in their direction curiously only to see right through them. It was an unnerving experience.

The price they paid for such success however was that they had to make regular stops for the shadow dragon to rest and recover the use of his element again. It took them almost until midday to reach their destination, a small outcropping large enough for several adult dragons to land inside. Hemmed in by trees on all sides, it was an ideal location. It was safely out of view for anyone wishing to find them from the village or for that matter, anyone within a good few miles. Spyro was quietly impressed.

Waiting there for them was a very impatient looking wind dragoness, her scales almost the same pearly white shade as the snow topped mountains behind them. It was for this reason that they almost missed her at first- save from the pair of bright blue eyes regarding them with suspicion. Once she seemed satisfied they were friendly, she leapt down from the tree she was perched in with such grace Spyro thought Cynder would have been jealous. The two drakes waited as she trotted up to them.

"You're late". Came the accusatory tone. Her accent was unusual, Spyro couldn't quite place it- but it definitely wasn't from Warfang. Ferenth simply dipped his head and nodded apologetically, still panting to catch his breath. He handed over his sealed report and she in turn extracted another set of orders from her satchel to give to him. To Spyro's surprise, she also produced a letter written in Cynder's handwriting and smiled at him with something close to amusement.

"She was very insistent that you got this. You haven't upset her, have you?" The wind dragoness smirked.

Spyro smiled hesitantly in response and took the letter. "If I really have upset her, I probably wouldn't be alive to talk to you right now." He chuckled, "Thank you."

The dragoness smiled wider and even laughed as well. Her eyes sparkled with delight. "Then you should also know that she wanted a reply from you. In this, Cynder insisted strongly also."

Ferenth looked at Spyro with a knowing smile, whistling to himself. "I sure wouldn't want her mad at me. You best do what the lady wants!"

Spyro sighed, reluctant to open the letter in their presence. He had a feeling he knew what was going to be in it, so he stepped back and sat down near a tree- leaving his companions to converse quietly.

He opened the letter carefully once comfortable and skimmed through the contents. His first reaction was one of relief to hear that Cynder was doing well and the city was overall unaffected by what was happening in the wider world. Although, the fact she wanted to come with him on the next trip worried him greatly now that he knew the sort of thing the council was up to. Rather selfishly, he decided right there and then to refuse her wishes. It would be difficult to deceive her, but he knew it was undoubtedly the right thing to do.

 _Next time it might not be safe!_ He thought, _Better I get hurt than her._

The last paragraph of her letter however confirmed his earlier suspicions about what Cynder wanted so urgently to discuss and he cringed, face-pawing.

So she really was mad at him for that night! That was to be expected, he supposed. But how could he possibly explain what happened? It was like something took over his mind and drove him to do it. _In his defence, he hadn't exactly been in total control of himself..._

"Ah, frogweed!" He cursed. There was no point trying to rationalise it. In his reply, he strove to be as informative as possible about the current situation but without revealing everything. It was a difficult balance to strike between his oath to the council and his promises to Cynder, but he tried his hardest;

" _Cynder,_

 _I really wish you were here, things are difficult right now. I can't say I'm surprised the council is sending out urgent messages all of a sudden. Things are starting to make sense to me now and I think something is happening that's bigger than either of us. It has to be something so big that the council thinks it has to remain secret or something terrible will happen. I'm not just talking about little disputes between villages anymore- it has to be something monumental._

 _When I get back, I promise to the ancestors that I will tell you everything that's been happening to me and everything that I've been doing. We can figure this out together. I've had enough of the games the council has been playing with me but right now I'm backed into a corner with no way out but theirs. I wish things were different, but I might be away a while longer than I first thought. I'm so very sorry. I know this wasn't what you wanted to hear._

 _Something has happened here though, Cynder. I can't tell you exactly what right now but please promise me that you'll be extra careful if you ever get sent out near here. I couldn't forgive myself if you got hurt._

 _Blast, I have to stop writing now because the courier is getting impatient- she's in as much a hurry as you sometimes!_

 _Just know that I love you and I'll be thinking of you every day. At the earliest chance I get I'm coming home and never letting you out of my life again. Leaving again so soon after coming home that night was the one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and I never want it to happen again._

 _We'll talk soon,_

 _Love, Spyro."_

The wind dragoness looked up as Spyro came walking back and watched him with a slightly bemused expression. He could feel his flushed cheeks burning against the chilly mountain winds and for once he wished there was a more private way of delivering messages. He wondered silently if she had read Cynder's letter already. After all, he was aware that the city couriers had long since discovered ways of opening letters and reading them without breaking the seal. He had to trust her to be honest!

"Done?" She asked impatiently, tapping her claws on the ground.

He nodded to indicate so and offered the letter with an outstretched paw. It disappeared amongst the rest of her belongings and she bade them good luck- quickly soaring into the open skies once more. Spyro had no doubt that was where she belonged. Cynder often said the same sort of thing to him. They watched her go until she was nothing but a speck on the horizon.

"Do I dare ask what our orders are now?" Spyro mused. "Are you going to tell me?"

Ferenth smiled slyly. "Well, I shouldn't really, but what the heck!" He shrugged.

"They told me that I need to keep you busy with the gryphons for a little while longer and keep feeding them information about their troop movements in the meantime. Help should be coming in a few days as soon as they receive my report though. Don't worry sir, we'll be fine."

Spyro groaned. "I'm sure..."

* * *

"And there are no other symptoms?" The fire dragoness asked patiently, with a compassionate and reassuring tone in her voice that Cynder found mildly irritating. They'd been through all this before! She tried her hardest not to groan in frustration.

Cynder was sat inside a relativity small and sparsely decorated office inside the newly rebuilt dragon temple at the centre of Warfang. Several days had passed and Cynder's strange illness hadn't gotten better. In fact, some days it had felt worse. One of the younger dragon nurses had done several tests already and found nothing physically wrong as far as they could determine. This new doctor, the fire dragoness, had only just arrived recently. It was immediately obvious that she was the more senior medical orderly in this place.

"No." Cynder eventually replied, "If I had to describe it, it's like I've not even slept at all sometimes- as if I've been awake all night. If I get up a little too quickly or eat the wrong thing, I feel sick now and again as well. Sometimes my stomach isn't strong enough to stop it coming right back up. It just all feels so draining, it's a constant hindrance. Nothing I try seems to help. The headaches are the worst, they come and go at random..."

The dragon nurse nodded in sympathetic understanding and scribbled something onto the papers on her desk with a speed Cynder assumed was borne from years of practice. A book was open too there with a picture of dragon anatomy on one of the pages, but reading upside down wasn't one of Cynder's strong points. Silence fell for a while until the nurse finally looked up again with a reassuring smile.

"Well in that case I would diagnose you with a classic case of overworked dragon-itus!"

She chuckled with amusement, but Cynder only frowned.

"I'm going to prescribe you a medicine that I want you to take twice a day. It might not taste good, but it should help with the headaches and sickness. I would also recommend taking at least a further week or two away from flying and other strenuous physical activity. Your body needs time to recover and the only way to do that is rest. Make sure to drink plenty of fluids and take things easy for a while. I certainly don't want to hear that you've been flying off on some adventure or another!"

The nurse then pushed a folded note towards Cynder which had an official looking stamp on it. Cynder stared at it curiously but didn't have to wait long for an explanation.

"Something to give to your employer. It will entitle you to sick pay for the duration."

"Sick pay?!" Cynder asked in alarm, suddenly realising the implications. "How long will I be off for?"

The dragoness raised an eyebrow in surprise, a faint smile curling at the side of her lips. "As long as it takes of course! If your symptoms get worse or if you feel improvement, don't hesitate to come back and we can re-assess your condition. Until then, _strictly no work!_ "

It sounded like a death sentence. Cynder let her tail fall sadly to the ground and sighed. _What was she supposed to do with her time now? She'd go stir-crazy like this!_

"Okay, thanks for seeing me." She replied quietly, resigned to her fate. "Where can I get this medicine?"

The other nurse came trotting over carrying something under her wing as if on cue. Cynder took it with outstretched paws and saw that it was a container filled with a bright red thick and gooey looking liquid. It had marks on the side, presumably for dosages. She waited for further instructions curiously.

"Two does a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon before you go to bed." The fire dragoness re-explained. "Don't forget!"

Cynder felt like a child being scolded and snorted, packing the container away into her satchel. The fire dragoness only smiled warmly and pulled opened the door for her to leave with obvious dismissal.

"Thanks for stopping by. Don't hesitate to come back if you feel any different!"

Cynder nodded in gratitude and walked out into the hallway where she found Ember waiting patiently. The pink scaled dragoness looked up and smiled hesitantly, obviously uncertain of what had just happened. She hopped to her feet.

"So, how'd it go?" Ember asked curiously. She seemed taken aback by Cynder's irritated body language and was forced to trot at double speed to keep up.

"They say I should take it easy for a week or two." Cynder explained with a frown, "They couldn't find anything wrong with me."

Ember tried to smile reassuringly and patted her side with a paw, "Hey, that's not so bad! At least you know there's nothing serious to worry about, right?"

Cynder grunted in reluctant agreement. The two friends walked down of the main hallways in the temple, the sound of their claws tapping against the marble flooring echoing loudly through the empty hallways. The whole place was deathly quiet. Very few dragons were allowed in here on account of the new security measures taken ever since the previous temple had been destroyed by Malefor. This place, Cynder knew, was widely regarded as the safest place in the realms. The hundreds of eggs kept and hatched here under the careful watch of the guardians and their assistants were the future of the whole dragon race and their safekeeping was the ultimate priority for everyone involved.

Of course, this all meant that no casual sightseers were allowed inside unless on official business. It was a necessary precaution certainly, but the end result made the whole place feel more like a tomb than a haven for dragon kind. The blank sandstone walls seemed to amplify their solitude, pressing down on them intimidatingly.

Some time later, once they had reached the main atrium, Ember had to leave for her own job. Her shift started soon and as she worked somewhere in the temple there wasn't far to go. They therefore parted ways reluctantly.

"See you later Cyndie!" Ember waved with a smile. "Try not to have too much fun!"

Cynder watched her friend leave and as soon as she was out of sight, her expression fell to one of dismay.

"Dammit..." She cursed. _What would she do now?_

"I suppose I should just go home." Cynder said out loud, flicking her tail in irritance.

The journey back was uneventful but left her feeling unusually drained. All she could stomach was a very light snack before the familiar nausea came back in force and she had to throw the rest away. Her foul mood wasn't helped by the fact she knew a council session was coming up that evening and she had been invited to attend, whether she wanted to go or not.

A letter arrived later that afternoon and she was shaken from a daydream by the sound of the letterbox snapping shut. Almost immediately she raced to grab it- grateful for any kind of news at all. The cover was in pieces by the time she settled in the lounge and the familiar handwriting of Spyro brought a smile to her face.

"What do you mean _something happened?"_ She asked with a scowl after reading the whole thing in only a minute. "Is that all you can tell me?"

Still though, she was left to wonder what it was exactly that he'd discovered. What could possibly be so important that the council wanted to keep things hushed up like this? A faint smile worked onto her expression as she then recalled the impending council session that evening. That was certainly something to look forwards to.

"I can ask for you, don't worry..." She grinned mischievously.

* * *

 **AN: Hello again everyone! Sorry for the delayed update. I've spent a bit of time re-writing parts of the first and third chapters. Let me know what you think!**

 **All your support by favouriting, following and reviewing this story is highly appreciated! It really makes my day to see that someone out there is enjoying reading as much as I enjoy writing this little tale. I hope I can keep things interesting for you!**

 **See you next time...**


	5. Concerns

"What!? What do you mean I can't come in?" Cynder retorted angrily.

The dragon soldier guarding the entrance to the council chambers remained remarkably impassive in the face of her fury. He was obviously trained well. Not many creatures could stand up to her piercing gaze and unfortunately, this soldier was one of them. The earth dragon barely even blinked as she bared her fangs with obvious displeasure, her tail flicking back and forth dangerously.

"I'm sorry ma'am. The council is in emergency session and no unannounced visitors are allowed. You'll have to come back later." He repeated himself calmly.

"Well I'm not a visitor, I was summoned here!" She quickly snapped back. He still however remained infuriatingly indifferent about her plight, looking into the distance somewhere behind her as if she didn't even exist.

Scowling angrily, Cynder reached into her satchel to show him the small slip of paper that proved she had been invited to attend the meeting that evening. It was due to start shortly and she didn't want to miss a second of it. A small smile of victory crossed her features for a moment as the guard took a second to read it but the brief elation she felt unfortunately soon disappeared as he shook his head in dismissal once again.

"Once the doors are closed nobody can enter." He explained more forcefully, "Those are my orders and they come right from the mayor himself- no exceptions. I'm sorry."

To say that Cynder was furious with this would be a grand understatement. She treated the guard to her most sphinx like smile and stormed off down the corridor in a huff, muttering to herself angrily. The confused stares and rude comments made to her as she barged past people didn't improve her mood, either.

 _Why is it that every single little thing seems to always conspire against me?_ She despaired. _It's not fair!_

By the time she managed to escape the confusing labyrinth of underground tunnels it was nearly dark outside. The twin celestial moons were only just beginning to poke above the horizon in the far distance, the golden spires of the city buildings twinkling brightly in the fading daylight. She stopped and stared for a while, finding that the familiar peaceful atmosphere calmed her mood significantly. She let out a long sigh and tapped her claws on the ground, lost in thought for a moment.

 _Ancestors, what was really going on in there?_ She had to wonder. It had to be something hugely important to either the city or the dragon race itself to declare an emergency and shut off the chambers like that. She hoped rather belatedly that whatever it was, Spyro wouldn't be getting involved with it...

The dark scaled dragoness pondered her options for a while and then decided to head for Ember's house and ask rather cheekily if she could stay for a while. Cynder just honestly wasn't in the mood to be alone right now and she was certain that her friend would be absolutely ecstatic to have a visitor again.

 _It would help to take her mind off things at the very least and stop her wanting to smash things in frustration!_

Knocking at their door several minutes later, Flame was the one who eventually answered. He regarded her with surprise at first but then smiled warmly in greeting. The smell of freshly cooked meat caught her attention and she couldn't help but feel her mouth start to water in response. The warmth of the fire crackling in the background felt incredibly inviting in comparison to the chilly night air around her.

"Cynder! We weren't expecting you tonight." Flame stated with a chuckle, "You want to come in for a while? Ember was just about to start making dinner and I'm sure she'd be happy to see you. She's had a rough day at work and she could probably use the company."

"At least I'm not the only one who's had a bad day." Cynder replied with a smirk. "Sure I'd love to, if it wouldn't be imposing too much?"

"Oh no, it's never a problem for you." He dismissed with a wave of his paw, "Come on in!"

As it turned out Ember was indeed quite pleased to see her. They chatted for a brief time amicably but after all finding herself now having to cook for three rather than two, Ember soon excused herself to the kitchen again. She seemed to rise to the challenge with great passion and gusto. It made Cynder smile knowingly. _At least Ember felt better now!_

Settling down in the lounge with Flame, Cynder stared out of the window for a while to pass the time while they waited. The view here was fantastic and it never ceased to amaze her. Being on a higher terrace than her own home, the whole panorama was breathtakingly beautiful. She could see almost everything from here all the way to the ramparts on the far side of town. However her sharp eyes quickly spotted something unusual happening down at the city guard barracks in the distance and she soon placed her full attention there, curiosity piqued.

Over the next few minutes she saw the armour clad dragon soldiers of the city guard beginning to fly back and forth in a great hurry, carrying supplies and weapons in a manner which looked to her to be incredibly rushed and ill-coordinated. The kind of supplies that they were gathering and bringing back in their claws seemed to be long-term provisions, the sort of items soldiers would carry in their bags to keep them supplied for a long march. She saw blankets, tents and bundles of dried meat- that sort of thing. It was all very curious.

 _Was this a mobilisation of some kind?_ She wondered. _But why? What's happened?_

"Dinner's ready!" Ember suddenly called out, peeking her head into the lounge for a moment.

"Come on honey," She said to Flame, "It'll get cold like last night if you don't get a move on!"

Cynder pulled her thoughts back to the present and watched as Flame got up and smiled at the other dragoness adoringly. In that brief moment Cynder couldn't help but feel terribly and miserably alone as they embraced in a loving nuzzle before walking into the dining room together. She watched after them longingly, her heart aching painfully.

 _Ancestors I miss the little things like that, the little reminders of affection..._

The smell of cooked meat admittedly was very appetising though and Cynder's stomach growled impatiently, snapping her out from her brief sullen trance. Truthfully she felt as if she could eat an entire deer and still want more. Ancestors she was starving!

"Coming, Cyn?" Ember asked with a smile, noticing that her guest was still sat at the window. She tried to return the expression but felt as if she were merely imitating the emotion of happiness rather than feeling it. Her friend didn't seem to notice though.

The three of them eventually sat down in their normal places and waited patiently while Ember served them with a very strange but interesting looking kind of meat and a variety of different vegetables. It all smelled great but Cynder hadn't a clue what most of it was. There were greens and oranges, even purples and reds- all mashed together into some kind of...paste? She didn't know what to call it.

Cynder eyed it curiously and Ember happily explained that it was a rare import brought in specially from a place that she didn't recognise the name of. It sounded distinctly foreign though and was probably therefore quite expensive! A genuine smile tugged at the corner of her mouth then as she realised that Ember was probably trying to impress her again. Cynder giggled slightly in amusement.

After hesitantly trying some of the odd looking food to be polite, Cynder found that it was actually pretty good stuff, despite the weird texture and scent. This seemed to please Ember greatly and the pink-scaled dragoness beamed happily.

"I thought you might like it. I'm glad I spent the extra money, it's always nice to have a change isn't it?" Ember grinned, "So anyway how was the rest of your day, Cynder? I heard you went to a council meeting or something?"

Cynder was about to reply but found her attention oddly focused on what Flame was doing. Rather carefully in a manner in which Ember wouldn't notice, he quietly breathed a lick of flame out of the corner of his mouth so that the food he had been pretending to eat evaporated into a fine cloud of ash that he quickly batted away. Cynder spent a little too long starting however and Ember seemed to quickly realise something was wrong.

"Hey! Did you just do what I thought you did?" The pink dragoness scowled, spotting the aftermath of Flame's actions with an eye for detail that seemed to shock him. "Didn't your mother teach you any manners? If you don't like it just say so!"

Flame's cheeks flushed ever so slightly in a strange purplish colour and he tried to smile innocently. Ember didn't believe him for a second though and playfully slapped him with a balled paw.

"No dessert for you, guardian wannabe! How do you expect to get as big and strong as Infernos if you don't eat your greens, hmm?"

Cynder laughed out loud for the first time in a while with the unexpectedness of the situation and found herself starting to genuinely feel better. Even Flame saw the funny side of it eventually and they all chuckled pleasantly for a while. They proceeded to chat away the hours of the night amicably. Nobody seemed to say anything about it but Cynder couldn't help herself going back for second and third helpings of the weird paste stuff. In fact, Ember seemed more than pleased to let her do so.

By the time they were finished Cynder was even about to lick the plate clean for every last morsel but just happened to stop herself when she realised her hosts were both staring curiously at her. She thought better of it and smiled apologetically to which Flame just laughed.

"Don't they feed you on that side of the city? Wow!" The amused looking drake grinned, "We need to invite you round more often!"

She felt her cheeks flush slightly and she scoffed, averting her gaze. Ember then took the plates away and put them in the sink to clean up later. On her suggestion, the three of them retired to the lounge and laid out comfortably by the fire. Cynder hadn't felt this contented in a long time and she sighed happily, snuggling deeper into the padded cushion.

"So Cynder, how would you like to come to work with me tomorrow?" Ember eventually asked. "You said you hated sitting at home all day so I figured you might be able to help out in the temple with me. We're under-staffed as it is and I don't think anyone would mind. I bet you'd love the change of pace, it's not particularly hard work at all. Would that be okay for you?"

"Oh, sure! I'd appreciate that a lot actually." Cynder replied with a smile. Even though she didn't know exactly what Ember did in there, it was certainly better than lazing about for a whole other day.

"Ha! We're gonna have so much fun tomorrow, just you wait!" Ember giggled, waving her tail around excitedly. This slightly annoyed Flame as it repeatedly crashed against his side but he was seemingly too tired to say anything about it.

As soon as both Ember and Flame had fallen asleep, Cynder suddenly found herself recalling that she had almost forgotten to take her medicine. With a scowl she got up and retrieved the bottle, pouring herself out a single dosage as the doctor had instructed. With a single swig she swallowed it in one go.

Unfortunately she discovered her mistake too late. She found herself wincing as the foul tasting substance burned her throat and nearly made her gag on the spot. The disgusting bitter after-taste of the red liquid left her licking her lips in disgust.

"Ugk, this stuff is horrible!" She frowned. "The doctor was right!"

* * *

Morning came and Cynder found herself being gently woken by a paw shaking her shoulder. For the briefest moment she saw Flame's outline and wondered groggily if Spyro had returned early, her heart skipping a beat. She then quickly discounted this thought however as she heard him speaking and saw his ruby red scales glinting in the sunlight.

"Cynder? Hellooo? Wakey-wakey!" He grinned.

She blinked a few times and yawned, stretching herself out comfortably. Her limbs popped a few times and she purred contentedly. For once she didn't wake up with a headache and wasn't feeling nauseous.

 _Perhaps the medicine did work after all,_ she mused briefly.

"Is Cynder awake yet?" Ember's voice suddenly echoed from somewhere in the house. "I've got to leave in five minutes!"

"Yep, she's up." Flame replied, looking back to Cynder with a smirk. "You sure like sleeping, huh? Are you sure you aren't Ember's twin sister?"

Cynder giggled with amusement and after wolfing down a quick breakfast the two dragoness' left the house together and started to make their way towards the temple. Because Cynder was limited to walking the journey took slightly longer than normal but it seemed to pass quickly enough as Ember was quite forthcoming with the various gossips and intricacies of her co-workers lives. She tried to listen attentively, but found the details soon slipping from memory, dull and uninteresting they were to her at that point.

By the time they had reached the inner sanctum in the temple several minutes later even Ember seemed to have run out of things to talk about, fortunately, and the conversation died abruptly. Having never been this far inside the temple before, Cynder was left in awe at the sheer scale of the place and had to stop and stare for a while.

It was basically a huge underground cavern, shaped by the power of many different earth dragons over the years to make the walls unnaturally smooth and functional. All over the place ancient texts and glyphs were displayed prominently in a way that reminded Cynder rather fondly of the previous swamp temple before it had been destroyed. The main thing to catch her eye however was the huge statue of a dragon posing heroically in front of them, its yellow crystalline eyes glinting in apparent welcome. It was a very opulent entrance indeed and she couldn't wait to see more!

Corridors branched off in several directions from this main atrium and Ember seemingly at random led her down one of them, opening an elementally sealed lock with a gush of flames that briefly illuminated a crystal set in the door frame. Ember explained to Cynder that only those allowed inside could open these doors for security reasons. This was the place where the guardians looked after all the eggs and secrets of their race after all, so it this explanation didn't really surprise her that much.

The two friends went deeper and deeper underground until finally they emerged into a rather familiar looking chamber that Cynder soon recognised as a hatchery. Her mouth fell open in amazement as she beheld hundreds of multi-coloured dragon eggs laid out carefully in neat rows all around them in individual alcoves.

She smiled when she realised that each egg had been carefully surrounded in what looked like a soft bedding material, cradling the developing infants inside with obvious care and attention. Even the temperature of the air felt different here. She assumed it was for the benefit of the unhatched dragons inside their eggs. It was all very impressive and it felt to Cynder at least an incredibly humbling experience. She had no idea there was so many eggs kept down here!

"Well, what do you think?" Ember mused, smiling in anticipation.

"This is where you work?" Cynder asked rather detachedly, still feeling a little overwhelmed. Her eyes were still floating about the place in wonder.

Ember nodded in reply and smiled giddily, "Yep! One of the most important jobs there is, huh? Stay here, I'll go get my boss. Don't touch anything!"

Cynder simply nodded in agreement, too stunned to even move from the spot. For a while she sat and stared with curiosity at the nearest egg, a lime green sort of shade. It wobbled a few times over the minutes but otherwise remained still. She found herself smiling without meaning to, imagining the life hidden away just underneath the surface. It was difficult to resist the urge to touch it, just to see what it felt like.

Eventually, a familiar looking older dragoness with vivid sapphire scales appeared at the end of the hall and smiled warmly at her in greeting. Cynder gasped with surprise, blinking several times in disbelief.

"Ariya...?" She asked curiously, not really believing at first what her eyes were telling her. The more that Cynder stared however, the more she was certain. Those bright blue scales were ever so slightly more worn and dimmer than the last time she'd seen them all those years ago, but there was no mistaking this dragoness for anyone else. Cynder would have recognised that kind and almost motherly stare anywhere!

"My, it's really you, isn't it?" The older dragoness chuckled at that point, looking at her up and down, her mouth falling slightly open in amazement. "Good heavens Cynder, you've grown up into quite the fine young dragoness, if I do say so! How have you been for these last few years? Has Spyro been keeping you out of trouble, I hope?"

Cynder chuckled knowingly at this remark and the two of them shared a brief and friendly embrace with their wings. "I'm good for the most part, thank you!" Cynder grinned in reply. "Gosh, I didn't know you were back in Warfang! What brings you here? I thought you'd left the city for good when we last met. Did something change?"

Ariya slowly released her at that point and sighed loudly, her tail flicking around with obvious discomfort at this topic of conversation. Her eyes flickered with faint regret for the briefest of moments as well, which was something Cynder was honestly not all that surprised to see.

 _So there really was something she didn't want to tell us about before!_ Cynder realised with a frown. _I knew it!_

"Well..." Ariya frowned uneasily, obviously struggling to find the right words for a few seconds. "I received an urgent summons from Terrador himself to return here about a week ago. They needed someone desperately to watch over the Warfang hatchery once again and with my all of my prior experience, I suppose I was the best candidate. Despite my own _personal_ reservations about coming back here, shall we say- it wasn't as if I could simply refuse, not when the future of our entire race depended on it. My duty is here, as it always has been, I suppose..." She smiled faintly.

"Anyway! Enough of this for now!" The sapphire scaled dragoness suddenly chuckled, before Cynder could articulate a response. "So Ember tells me that you're looking to help out today, but not with anything too physically demanding, if I understand correctly?"

Cynder simply nodded to indicate that this was so.

"Well in that case, would you like to come inside and get started right away?" She asked eagerly, "There's lots to be done, and we are far behind schedule as it is!"

"Oh, sure!" Cynder replied with an uncertain and rather bemused kind of smile after a moment of thought. "But what is it that I'll be doing here, exactly? Ember wasn't very specific when she invited me here, actually.."

"Oh don't worry, I have a good idea where to put you already." Ariya chuckled with a wry smile. "You'll have to wait and see!"

Cynder frowned but followed a few paces behind regardless at a brisk trot, curious as to what this new job might be.

 _Well, if it's something Ember can do, then I can do it better!_ She asserted optimistically.

The two of them passed though several elementally sealed doors and then eventually into a large open chamber in which a few other dragons were busy talking with Ember about something that looked deeply engrossing. The pink scaled dragoness spotted Cynder and Aryia at this point and paused to give a little friendly wave, but was obviously too busy with her work to do anything more than offer Cynder a warm smile of support as they passed by.

 _What is this place? I've never seen anything like it..._

Cynder paused for a moment then, and looked around curiously at her surroundings. There were various doors leading away from the main corridor in different directions, with each one labelled in runes as to what function each place served. From here she could see several nesting rooms and a few other places for storing spirit gems and other items, but all were seemingly empty at the moment. It was into one of the final few unmarked rooms that Ariya poked her snout through then, the relative silence of the place being abruptly broken by the unexpected sound of gleeful laughter.

Cynder trotted forwards to catch up in confusion and just happened to glance upwards at that moment, surprised to find that the source of these sounds was actually a dozen or so young hatchlings playing boisterously with each other in the far corner of this relatively smaller, and well padded it seemed, side chamber. The several playful shrieks and echoing giggles from the children brought a smile to Cynder's face. She hadn't ever seen hatchlings as young as this before, they looked at the most only a few months old, if she had to guess.

 _Aww...t_ _hey're so cute!_ She thought with a giggle. _But, where are their parents? There's only me and Ariya here..._

The sapphire scaled dragoness gently stepped forwards to get the children's attention then, coughing to clear her throat in a way that made the entire room fall silent rather abruptly. She learned down, silently slipping past where Cynder was standing, to lower herself to their level as they gathered around her obediently. The older dragoness then explained something to them in a soft and quiet voice, in a way that made it difficult for Cynder to hear exactly what was being said. All of a sudden though, the hatchlings giggled excitedly and all started to look to Cynder with barely restrained excitement, their little tails flying around furiously in anticipation.

Cynder felt her gut clench in utter dread as it suddenly became obvious what Ariya had planned for her.

 _Wait, no! This isn't how I wanted to spend my day!_ Cynder despaired, whining nervously. _I can't do this, I don't know the first thing about looking after hatchlings, and she knows that!_

"I'm uh...I'm not sure about this. Ariya? Can we talk first?" She stammered. "Maybe we can find something else for me to do...?"

The sapphire scaled dragoness only giggled excitedly in response, flicking her tail back and forth in clear enjoyment.

"Ready children? Go get her!"

Almost immediately the group of hatchlings swarmed towards Cynder screaming joyfully and she yelped in surprise as they began to tug at her wings and horns, some even managing to scamper up onto her back and roar in triumph. It took all of her self control not to buck them away and free herself, trapped as she was. Real panic took over then, and all she could think to do in that moment was lay down and stay still in the hope that none of them fell and hurt themselves.

"Ariya!" She pleaded desperately, looking to the older dragoness for guidance. Cynder was totally out of her comfort zone right now and she wasn't scared to admit it.

 _Oh ancestors, what do I do?! There are so many of them! I don't want to do anything wrong!_

The clear and pure sound of Ariya's laughter filled the air shortly after a few moments had passed of Cynder's silent struggle. The sight of a fully grown adult dragoness being overwhelmed by hatchlings seemed to amuse her greatly.

"Young ones, come this way! Come to me!" Ariya then said softly, but firmly. The sound of all the tiny little paws scrambling wildly to obey her command echoed across the room, and some of the hatchlings even pushed and shoved to be at the front to get the best spots. One young fire drake currently sat on Cynder's head leapt off with glee, accidentally stabbing her in the eye with his tail blade as he did so. She groaned with irritation.

"Look, I'm not cut out for this sort of thing, Ariya. I...I can't..." Cynder tried to explain, suddenly unable to find the words as the entire group of children looked at her in utter confusion at this quite unintentional outburst of panic. Her heart was still beating at a million times a second, and her throat tightened in discomfort as she struggled to continue. "I just don't think this is for me, I mean! I don't know anything about this...what if I do something wrong, what if one of them gets hurt? I don't want to be responsible for that!"

Ariya only shook her head slowly in understanding and wrapped a wing around Cynder in a light hug, squeezing slightly with a smile on her face.

"Now I know all this may feel overwhelming right now, but there's really nothing to be afraid of! I'll be with you every step of the way- one thing at a time! For an intelligent young dragoness like yourself, once the initial shock wears off, you'll tend to find this whole experience both challenging and rewarding in equal measure. I almost guarantee it..."

Ariya laughed a second later, probably noticing Cynder's still hesitant and weary expression to this statement. "Come on, stop looking so glum, it'll be fun! Now listen closely, and let me show you the basics!"

Cynder just scowled even deeper in reply however, and thought of Ember in that moment.

 _Oh, just wait until I get my paws on her! This is not so not funny!_

* * *

It was late afternoon in the village of Avion by the time Spyro and his dark scaled companion departed their camp site for the mountains once again. Their tired bodies had been pushed close to their limits already by the constant exertion of going back and forth all over the place in a seemingly endless cycle of monitoring the gryphon encampment and trying to discover the truth of the original issue they had been sent here to resolve. So far they had made little frustratingly little progress in either regard and neither of them had been sleeping well as a result.

The pressure was always seemingly ever increasing on them to find some kind of solution before the reinforcements from Warfang arrived and upset the careful balance of power here in this region. The gryphons might not wait long enough for them to arrive though and Spyro was honestly starting to get worried. It would be cutting it close, regardless of what happened.

 _Today will be different, I know it!_ Spyro thought optimistically.

This evening was the first time that a spell caster had been close enough to assist with their investigation and it was this that Spyro was most excited about. He was a rather secluded individual called Oracle, an old cheetah that lived in the valley of Avalar. It was with an almost giddy smile on Spyro's face now that he saw their destination near the top of the hill through the sparsely populated forest and he began to half run, forcing Ferenth to work harder to catch up.

"You're awfully cheery today, sir." Ferenth observed with a smile of his own. Spyro just laughed.

"We might be going home this time tomorrow. Of course I'm cheery!"

As they eventually approached, they happened upon a lone robed figure perched gracefully on a fallen log. They slowed to a walk and eventually stopped at the side of the clearing, watching the cheetah awkwardly as he made no attempt to acknowledge them.

"Hello, Oracle?" Spyro proffered at last. "We're here."

The cheetah was seemingly too intent on polishing his crystal-tipped staff to even notice they were there at first. Several awkward moments passed until his pale blue eyes snapped to them both and studied them for a moment seemingly before loosing interest. He only smiled vaguely and promptly turned his attention back to his careful polishing.

Truthfully Spyro wasn't overly surprised by this odd behaviour and he didn't allow it to affect him too much. Spellcasters were always a little... _eccentric._

"Are we ready now, master Spyro?" The cheetah eventually mused. "Shall we begin?"

Spyro nodded eagerly in reply and settled on his haunches, as did his companion.

"Please. What do you want us to do?" He asked.

Oracle grunted and waved a hand in dismissal. "Nothing! You are here to watch and watch only! Do not move, you only will disturb my work. The contents of the elusive past you seek will be revealed though, I promise this..."

Spyro snapped his mouth shut, feeling rather subdued all of a sudden. He soon realised however that they were no longer alone in the clearing and gasped with surprise. In front of them were two ghostly apparitions of Edbur and Tharos, summoned by the old cheetah with the wave of his staff. The slightly luminescent appearance of the young dragon and gryphon glinted softly in the fading sunlight and for all intents and purposes looked alive save from their total lack of movement. It was amazing!

"Whoa!" Ferenth gasped. "How did you do that?"

The cheetah simply grunted and walked up to the imitation gryphon, studying it carefully for a moment. With a flick of his wrist the gryphon walked backwards several steps and poised itself as if it were ready to pounce. This seemed to satisfy the spell caster at first but then the cheetah made several minor adjustments to the gryphon's posture and expression. The illusion that was pretending to be Edbur started to look determinedly dangerous, with obvious intent in his beady little eyes. It was almost frighteningly accurate to how Spyro imagined this gryphon behaving after hearing so much about him.

"Edbur was here, I'm certain." The cheetah explained, gesturing with an outstretched finger to some disturbed shrubbery underfoot. "He was ready to strike at a doe that had just wandered into the clearing..."

Spyro was about to ask how the cheetah could possibly know this but another apparition then appeared, silencing the words on the end of his tongue. This time a rather injured looking doe with an obvious limp in her back leg materialised in the middle of the clearing.

Again, the cheetah gestured to some detail so small that Spyro couldn't even hope to understand the reasoning as to why it was so or why it was helpful. All he knew was that the spell caster was the most experienced in all of Avalar and had been requested specifically for this task. It was with a polite attentiveness that he listened despite his complete lack of understanding.

"And what was Tharos doing?" Spyro asked curiously. "Was this doe how they came to blows? They were both hunting it?"

"Silence!" Oracle hissed, shooting him an angry glance. "No questions, no talking!"

Ferenth snorted with amusement and Spyro frowned back at him, feeling rather embarrassed. The dragon soldier shook his head and attempted to put on a straight face but it was a loosing battle. He couldn't help but smirk each time their eyes met.

"The dragon was here..." Oracle then stated, matter of factly. With another wave of his staff, the ghostly version of Tharos stepped backwards to the opposite side of the clearing and similarly lowered itself into a low and ready crouch. Between them, the doe looked remarkably impassive about its probable imminent destruction. It took Spyro a moment to figure out why but eventually recalled witnesses saying that the weather was atrocious at this time with a heavy snowstorm. There was no way that dragon or gryphon could have ever seen or scented each other at this distance.

"Now we wait..." Oracle stated, planting his staff into the ground besides him. The crystal began to glow faintly, pulsing rhythmically with an energy of the sorts Spyro couldn't understand. The cheetah went back to the fallen log and crossed his legs, closing his eyes. For all intents and purposes he seemed very much asleep or at the very least in a deep trance of some kind.

Spyro and Ferenth shared a quick look of disbelief and uncertainty. _What was it they were waiting for? How long might it take?_

As it turned out night fell before they got an answer. The cheetah hadn't allowed them to move at all during this time and Spyro's muscles ached painfully. He was just about to get up to stretch when the cheetah suddenly leapt upright himself, quickly grabbing his staff. Both drakes watched intently, waiting for an explanation.

"It is finished. Observe..." Oracle stated. He gripped his staff tightly and it sent out several waves of luminous energy, faintly lighting the area in its ethereal glow. As the tendrils touched the imitations of the three creatures involved they began to move slowly, seemingly being brought to life. Spyro could even see the rising and falling of Tharos' chest as he breathed heavily, stalking forwards. His nostrils visibly flared as he took in the scent of the doe and the imitation grinned expectantly.

Ferenth nudged Spyro with a paw and pointed to the gryphon who as it turned out was acting in very much a similar manner. It was all a very surreal experience and Spyro wondered if anyone would even believe them when it was over _._ It was difficult to imagine that this was something that had occurred almost all that time ago!

As it turned out, Edbur the gryphon was the first to spot the doe. He crouched and then pounced eagerly, talons glinting dangerously in the moonlight. His prey didn't even see him coming and was quickly killed with a sharp bite of the gryphon's savage beak to its neck.

Blood pooled rapidly over the ground and as the gryphon tried to recover his breath a sudden wall of flames seemed to envelop his entire form. Spyro jumped in shock as the terrifying scream of pain that followed tore through the otherwise peaceful night air.

The next few seconds passed by in a confused tangle of limbs and screams of pain as the gryphon saw Tharos stood nearby and leapt at him to retaliate. The imitations slowly faded into nothingness shortly thereafter. Oracle placed his staff in the ground once again and frowned intently.

It had all happened too quickly for Spyro to tell exactly what had occurred in any degree of certainty. From a first glance it would appear the gryphon was correct in stating he had been attacked first by Tharos. The dragon had used his fire element, there was no denying that!

 _Oh ancestors, how is the village elder going to take this news!_ Spyro wondered painfully. _They won't like this one bit!_

Ferenth seemed uncertain however and scowled, raising an eyebrow. He was looking at the top of the hill critically and hummed in thought.

"That wasn't Tharos." The shadow dragon suddenly asserted. "I was watching carefully and the flames came from somewhere else. It was from somewhere near that tree line behind them up there."

Oracle looked up at that point and waved his staff, sending a ball of green energy in that direction. It illuminated the area but did nothing else. The cheetah grunted in dismissal.

"Nothing. There was nothing there!" He retorted. "I would know."

Spyro rubbed his forehead with a paw, sighing loudly. "Is there a way to show us again, slower this time?" he asked. "We need to know for certain, this is important."

The cheetah nodded sharply and planted his staff into the ground again. The figures of the three creatures re-appeared although somewhat fainter this time. Oracle frowned and gestured to them.

"The trace grows weaker the more times that we do this." He explained, "Watch carefully, for we may not get many more chances."

This time, Spyro watched everything that Tharos was doing intently. He saw the shock in his expression as the gryphon killed the doe but he didn't otherwise seem to react other than just standing still in surprise. He looked to the right higher up the hill all of a sudden as if he'd heard something and promptly yelled out in alarm as a wall of flames came rushing down. He barely managed to duck in time to avoid it as the attack enveloped the gryphon. As Spyro stood there watching, it became obvious that from where the Edbur was standing that it appeared as if Tharos had done this to him.

The images faded again and Spyro found himself humming in thought. Ferenth looked rather smug with himself for having noticed this anomaly. As usual, his sharp eye for detail had saved them quite a lot of valuable time.

"Where did the elemental attack come from if not Tharos?" Spyro asked out loud. "There must have been someone else here that night."

Oracle seemed surprised to realise this as well, his arrogance fading immediately.

They together spent the next half hour or so following the old cheetah as he his waved his staff around further up the hilltop to try and find out exactly what it was. Eventually they came across a very faint image of a bipedal figure standing by a low tree, holding out a staff or sword of some kind high above its head.

The image was far too distorted and faint to tell exactly what species this creature was but to Spyro it looked to be either a panther or cheetah, perhaps a wolf. They waited a moment for Oracle to replay the encounter a final time just to confirm this theory. As expected, the two-legged creature summoned forth the wall of flames that had stuck the gryphon far below, somehow with the object held in its hands. From that moment onwards, the imaged faded permanently.

"Ancestors above..." Spyro mumbled at last. "This wasn't an accident at all!"

Before Ferenth could respond there was a sharp crack of what sounded like lightning and the whole forest abruptly lit up in a bright purple glow. Far too quickly for either of them to react, a bolt of energy came flying through the air from further down the hill and struck the shadow dragon square in the chest. Ferenth fell to the ground in a tangle of limbs, screaming out in pain.

Spyro didn't think, he just acted from instinct. He raised his paw and summoned a sphere of electricity that deflected the next few bolts of energy harmlessly away. He saw a line of figures marching towards them at that point and dread filled his entire being when he saw the glinting of gryphon armour in the faint moonlight. He gritted his teeth and threw the ball of electricity towards them. When it exploded in mid-air the forest lit up almost as bright as day and several gryphons clutched their eyes in discomfort, temporarily halting their progress.

The slight pause gave Spyro enough time to run to his fallen comrade and sling the now limp and unconscious young dragon over his shoulder. Oracle had simply vanished into nothingness, perhaps using his own spells to escape. Either way Spyro ran as fast as he could in the direction of the village, deflecting away the strange energy blasts with his own elements until his mana was feeling dangerously depleted by the exertion.

 _Just what was this weapon they were using?!_ He thought quickly. _It feels like it drains my energy each time they use it! I can't keep this up!_

He had barely made it half way down the mountain when a cloaked figure suddenly stepped out in front of him. The long furry snout protruding from the hood it was wearing curled dangerously into a cocky smile. In its hands was a long silver staff, tipped with what Spyro recognised as the same unnatural dark crystals that the Malefor and his dark armies had used to such great effect ten years ago.

It made him freeze on the spot in dread, uncertain of what to do. There was nowhere else to run and at this range, there would be no chance of dodging or deflecting anything.

"Say goodnight, buddy! You 'aint runnin' no more!" The figure said teasingly, lowering the staff to point at them. As the tip of the staff glinted with light, Spyro desperately tapped into his dragon time ability, hoping to escape in a final dash of unexpected speed. However all he managed to do thanks to his weary body was only lengthen the time it took for the bolt of bright purple energy to reach him.

 _There was no getting out of this one..._

In the moment before impact, Spyro stared into his attacker's face intently and tried to memorise every detail, lit up as it was now by the bolt of energy surging towards him. It was obvious to Spyro that the creature was clearly a wolf. His long coat was a dull grey colour and looked rather matted. His bright blue eyes were narrowed with such an anger towards Spyro that it didn't seem possible for one creature to contain so much rage.

Spyro thought of Cynder then and he whispered a faint goodbye, resigned to his fate.

The last thing he felt as the energy bolt finally struck him in the chest was an unbearable pain and as time resumed its normal speed as a result, cruel laughter echoed through the night air in victory.

* * *

 **AN: I'm still alive don't worry! Sorry this chapter took so long. I had to re-write it so many times it frustrated me and I had to take a break from it. I think at some point I'll have to do this one again from scratch though because its not really up to the usual standard I hold myself to. At least for now you guys get to see the general direction the story is going and we can move onto more exciting things!**

 **Anyway, what do we think? Oooh! What's going to happen to Spyro now? I told you something interesting was going to happen shortly...**

 **If you enjoy this story I would very much appreciate it if you could leave a review! Any feedback is welcome. It really makes my day to read that someone out there is enjoying it. I can see how many people view to the story but not what people think unless they say so :)**

 **See you next time!**

 **EDITED 06/01/16- Changed and edited the parts where Cynder meets Ariya and the "playroom" scene too, so that future stories I have planned in my head can happen more smoothly. I wasn't thinking very far ahead when I first wrote this, and only now I suddenly realised that Cynder needs to know who Ariya is for some important plot-points later on...**

 **TLDR of changes: Cynder knows who Ariya is, and has done for quite some time, rather than just meeting her for the first time!**

 **I wonder though, how did they meet before? Sounds like they're good friends, right? 0_o**

 **Guess we'll find out in future instalments, or should I say, a prequel story... :P**


	6. Developments

Initiate Griffith hesitated before the general's tent, knowing that his commanding officer was very much a busy gryphon and wouldn't take kindly to being interrupted in the midst of such an important meeting. Even now the various arguing voices inside could be heard quite clearly through the thin fabric as it flapped away in the wintry mountain breeze. The message Griffith carried couldn't wait however- it was urgent.

Besides him, the other two gryphon soldiers acting as escorts looked rather more subdued. The way in which their blood stained uniforms and weapons glinted in the moonlight was a stark reminder of what had just occurred several hours ago. There had been some confrontation with the dragons in the village across the valley and it had cost them dearly to achieve their objective- whatever that had been. Apparently they had only just barely made it back unscathed.

The young gryphon soldier took a deep breath in anticipation of what he was about to do and clicked his beak a few times nervously. He ran a taloned paw through his silvery grey feathers in a vain attempt to make himself look somewhat presentable. After all, the general had high standards and wouldn't tolerate sloppiness.

 _I can do this!_ He thought to himself with renewed determination.

"Excuse me general, sir! Urgent summons from the wolf tribe!" He called out.

The conversation in the tent abruptly fell silent and there was a horrible moment in which Griffith thought he had gone over the line, overstepped his boundaries. All of a sudden his confidence vanished in that moment, reminding him of his own inexperience with such matters.

 _By the gods, who was I to speak to a general like this! What was I thinking?_

The tent flung open suddenly and the general himself emerged, staring at the motley group of soldiers in front of him with something akin to disgust. His proud golden feathers were stuck out on end, obviously displeased about this rude interruption. His eyes looked to Griffith and narrowed in a way that forced him to momentarily avoid the older gryphon's gaze.

"Tell them that I do not have time to deal with more of their trivial disputes." The general scowled, "I am too busy!"

The general then seemed to hesitate however as he saw the way in which the soldiers in front of him were stained with the gore of battle. His eyes flashed with worry for a second and then his anger returned in force, his wings flaring slightly to show his upset. Griffith knew this would happen however and bowed his head in respect pre-emptively.

"What happened?" The general snapped fiercely. "Another wild idea from the wolf alpha? By the gods! Is everyone all right?"

Griffith could only think of what the wolf had told him only minutes ago and shakily reminded himself that it was his sworn duty to tell his commanding officer everything he knew.

"The alpha says he has captured prisoners that are ready for your interrogation, sir." He elaborated. "It's urgent."

The general held his beak open in surprise for a moment, seemingly at a loss of what to say.

" _Prisoners?_ What prisoners?!" He eventually demanded with clear incredulity. "Very well, take me there and be quick about it!"

Griffith managed to salute proudly despite his trembling limbs and proceeded to lead the general through the encampment towards where the wolf tribe was waiting for them. All around him the clinking of metal and harsh shouting of troops preparing for imminent combat steeled his resolve to be as quick as possible so that he might prepare more thoroughly for whatever came next. He knew in his heart that the dragons would not take this sort of action lying down...

As they approached the few secluded tents near the outskirts, the alpha of the wolf tribe, or 'pack' as Griffith knew they wanted to be called- walked forwards and bowed in mock greeting. He smiled then, his disgusting yellow teeth bared in such a way in which all of them could see quite clearly. This was all designed to offend in a way that Griffith knew the general would understand but feel incapable of acting upon.

"Well it's about time!" The wolf sneered. "I was starting to think you weren't coming to the party! Come on over, I brought you a present. Trust me, you'll love this!"

Griffith watched as his commanding officer ruffled up his feathers with obvious indigence and growled threateningly at the wolf in reply, causing everyone nearby to freeze in shock and surprise. Even the alpha paused for a second in uncertainty.

"Just what sort of game do you think this is?" The general spat angrily, "We are not here to start a war in which we very well could loose! Taking prisoners is the first step in this path to madness and I will not have it! Three of my soldiers have already died under your command and I hope for your sake that this latest excursion has been worth it!"

The wolf simply snickered in reply without any visible sign of remorse and promptly began to walk closer to the tents in which they were very obviously keeping something important. Griffith strained his senses and could detect the faint sounds of painful moaning coming from inside. Knowing these were probably dragons, his heart turned in sympathy. He did not personally hate them but he knew that these actions were probably and quite unfortunately necessary by nature. He held his tongue and waited patiently for orders, standing at attention rigidly by his leader's side.

"Come on, buddy! Do you really think I wouldn't do this without a good reason?" The alpha wolf grinned at last, pushing open the entrance to the larger tent in invitation. "Come look, see for yourself!"

Griffith saw his commanding officer nod discreetly to them all shortly before moving and the initiate got the message loud and clear. As the general walked inside he and a comrade in arms quickly took up post outside the tent and stood guard, ready to intervene at a moments notice. After all, their relationship with the wolf tribe was not exactly one built on trust but rather one of mutual need...

 _How many more have to die for the general to realise working with this wolf tribe is a mistake?_ Griffith pondered. _This is only going to end badly..._

The minutes passed slowly thereafter, the twin moons steadily rising higher and higher in the night sky far away. They had heard nothing from inside the tent at all during this time, as if it were perhaps magically hidden from outside intrusion somehow. It honestly wouldn't surprise him at this point for the wolves were secretive by their very nature.

The initiate sighed and tried his hardest to stay awake but he had been on duty now for nearly a whole day and it was a battle he could not win. Being posted here was both physically and mentally tiring work. All he could think about in that moment was curling up in the soft bedding in his own tent and drifting off peacefully, his eyelids feeling rather heavy all of a sudden. He found himself yawning but still remained vigilant, trying to be aware of the various comings and goings in the area around them. All was quiet so far.

The relative peace of the night was suddenly broken by a scream of such gut wrenching terror and agony that Griffith and the other soldier standing guard physically flinched with alarm and immediately barged into the tent with great haste, disregarding the members of the wolf pack staring at them with obvious distaste.

"Sir!" Griffith demanded desperately, looking around for his leader, prepared in his mind to strike the wolf down for his treacherous actions. However it quickly became apparent that this was not the cause of the screaming. The general and the wolf alpha were quite unharmed and actually seemed rather surprised to see the two gryphon soldiers in here.

"At ease, initiates! Wait outside!" The general commanded.

It was too late though. Griffith had seen it all. Laid out on the floor between them were two very badly injured looking dragons, tightly bound with some kind of enchanted rope to stop them from moving. The one on the left was an adult male and his purple scales glinted faintly in the moonlight, though it was fairly obvious from the few dark patches underneath his ribs that he had been beaten recently. The smaller of the two was far younger and had jet black colouration. The only redeeming fact was that the purple dragon seemed to be unconscious at that moment. A faint line of blood could be seen drooling from his mouth.

 _By the gods! What was going on here?!_ Griffith was truly speechless. _A purple dragon? Maybe the rumours of the wolves advanced weapons were accurate after all..._

"It's all right, they can watch if they want to." The wolf shrugged dismissively before the general could say any more."The real fun is just about to start now anyway, the more the merrier!"

The general seemed concerned but powerless to speak any further, his will to act obviously long gone by this point. All the colour seemed to be gone from his face and his eyes were now staring with concern at the younger dragon laid between them. This one had a panicked looked to his expression, his eyes darting around in utter terror between them all. As the wolf drew a rather cruel looking serrated blade from a sheath on his belt, the dark scaled dragon whimpered in fear and tried to scramble further away.

"So where are your reinforcements right now?" The wolf asked in a tone that sounded strangely friendly and reassuring, "We know you sent a report to your superiors because we intercepted it, so how far away are they? If you cooperate with me you'll find I can actually be a pretty reasonable kind of guy! So what do you say, kiddo? Can we work this out?"

"I don't know! I don't know!" The dragon pleaded desperately, tears forming in his eyes.

The wolf simply sighed with mock disappointment and looked between the other occupants of the tent for a moment. His tail flicked around impatiently.

"Look, I've been nice to you guys so far and all you do is shut me down like that? It hurts, man! I thought we had something going here for us!"

The wolf leaned closer then and held the knife right in front of the dragon's terrified face, hanging it just millimetres from his snout in clear threat. _He seemed to enjoy this far more than he should,_ Griffith noted...

"Let me make this real clear for you, okay?" The wolf continued with a scowl, "You either play by my rules or you don't play at all. The only way you're getting out of this alive is to do what I tell you. So, with that understood, I'm gonna give you one more chance. Answer the question!"

The dragon tried to say something but the words were stuck in his throat. He looked so panicked and afraid that Griffith doubted he understood anything that had just been said anyway. This was not lost on the wolf either, unfortunately.

"Well, I really didn't wanna have to do this..." The wolf sighed after a moment of silence. "Just remember you only brought this on yourself, kiddo!"

With a smooth motion the wolf suddenly thrust the knife into the small of the dragons back, right into the gap between his wing muscles. The effect was immediate and the dragon yelled out in such agony and distress Griffith just couldn't take it anymore. He promptly decided that enough was enough and stepped forwards to catch the general's attention.

"Sir!" Griffith yelled desperately, "You have to stop this!"

Before anyone could do or say anything more the purple dragon then surprised them all by whispering something barely audible before breaking down into a coughing fit. He was suddenly conscious now but seemed to be having great difficulty in getting his words out. They all stared curiously at him and waited for him to try again.

"Two or three days..." He rasped painfully at last, "They left yesterday. Just leave him alone, please..."

The wolf laughed out loud on hearing this and withdrew the knife, causing the younger dragon to groan and slump tiredly to the floor. The wound closed seemingly of its own accord when the wolf sprinkled a fine red dust onto it from his other hand, the small little crystals seeping into the scales and knitting them together as if they had never been damaged at all. It left the dragon trembling and shaking, panting heavily.

 _Crucially_ , thought Griffith, _he wouldn't bleed to death..._

"Well hot damn!" The wolf chuckled. "You hear that? That is how we get things done around here! Two or three days? Man that is some good, solid intelligence right there! You know, I think I'm beginning to like you!"

The wolf stepped closer and grinned excitedly, "So, _Spyro_ , was it? Let's have a little chat, buddy. Just you and me..."

The purple dragon spat out a few globules of blood from his mouth and scowled with obvious displeasure at the taste. His bright violet eyes stared with utter hatred towards the wolf which only served to amuse his torturer even more.

"You've got what you wanted. Just let my friend go. Please...he doesn't deserve this."

The gryphon general stepped between them at that moment and blocked the wolf from approaching any further. His expression was of the utmost seriousness and he glared with unrestrained anger and intolerance towards the alpha. Griffith was silently impressed by how impressively bold and noble that the gryphon looked in that moment, his earlier reluctance to act had disappeared, obviously!

"I can't let you continue any further." The general growled, "We must return them to their village before any more blood is shed in the name of this foolish venture. Do you not think that the dragons will retaliate for this when they realise that two of their own are missing, perhaps even captured? One of them is the purple dragon of legend and they would do anything to retrieve him, of that I'm certain! The only way out of this mess is to erase their memories with our spell casters and return them."

The wolf hesitated for only the briefest moment and then laughed out loud, almost mockingly. Griffith wearily kneaded the ground with his talons, ready to leap to his leader's defence at a moment's notice. He watched the small knife glinting in the faint moonlight and he scowled with concentration, observing the wolf's movements intently.

"And just who are you to tell me what to do, huh?" The wolf scowled in retort. "I told you we needed to attack a week ago and now it looks like we're about to loose the opportunity! I say we kill both of them now just to make a point and crush their tiny village, before it's too late."

"No. This deal is finished." The general said firmly, stamping his paw onto the ground with clear finality. "From this moment forwards you are no longer allowed to command my troops as you see fit and I do not want to see you or any of your kind in my sight again. I agreed to this course of action at first because it was in my king's interest but no longer! I understood intimidating the dragons but this is madness! We are risking war!"

The wolf adjusted the grip on his knife and licked his chops, a mad sort of smile tugging at his lips all of a sudden. He looked to the two gryphon initiates and back to the general slowly, then chuckled to himself.

"Now look, I appreciate we got off on the wrong foot here and there's been a few rocky spots here and there but I'm willing to let all that slide, okay? We don't need to be enemies here, we all want the same thing, right?"

The general turned an eye to the wolf and simply frowned.

"I just wanna ask you something and think carefully about your answer, okay? I just wanna know if you're willing to do what it takes to see this through! Think about it, do you really want to have your people suffer from another thousand years of oppression by the dragons? This is the only way forwards now. It's either us or them!"

The general fluffed up his feathers indignantly and looked towards the exit of the tent in clear dismissal now, clearly not impressed with this speech.

"Leave." He hissed, "We are done here."

The wolf sighed and shook his head, tutting in disapproval. He reached into his coat and withdrew a long silver staff tipped with what looked like a faint glowing kind of crystal. Griffith opened his beak in warning but it was too late.

"Wrong answer!" Yelled the wolf.

Far quicker than any of them could react there was a bright flash of purple and the wolf disappeared in a blur of motion so quickly Griffith couldn't understand what had happened. There was a horrible slicing sound as a sword swung through the air, followed by a dull thud afterwards as something fell to the ground. Griffith looked down in horror and saw the general's head staring lifelessly back up at them, rolling on the floor for a moment before falling still.

Roaring in fury, the other gryphon initiate leapt towards the wolf, talons outstretched in an attempt to disembowel the traitor in pure outrage. Griffith was about to act in much the same way but hesitated at the last moment, the tent was far too small for both of them to attack in this manner.

However this course of action was apparently what the alpha had expected as there was suddenly another bright purple flash of light and the other gryphon soldier was thrown backwards as a bolt of energy struck him in the chest, killing him instantly. His body crumpled in a tangle of limbs near the entrance of the tent.

"Oh damn! Did you see that?!" The wolf cheered.

Griffith stiffened, absolute fear freezing him to the spot. He spun his head around and saw that the wolf was now stood at the entrance of the tent, blocking his escape route. The alpha's muzzle was opening and closing rapidly and it took a moment for Griffith to realise he was laughing. The staff then lowered in his direction, the crystals glowing dangerously in the darkness of the night.

"Ah, ah!" The wolf warned. "Stay right there! I need you alive. No funny ideas, okay?"

Griffith had never been so frightened before in his whole life. He simply nodded dumbly, still in shock. His heart was beating at a million times a second and it was difficult to do anything but focus on breathing for the moment, as if to reassure himself that he was still alive. _Gods! How did the wolf do that?!_

"Come on, we're gonna go have a little talk with your buddies!" The wolf grinned, "It's time we had a change of leadership around here!"

The wolf walked forwards and grabbed the initiate by the scuff of his neck, pulling him out of the tent towards the middle of the encampment rather roughly. A second wolf stepped inside as if this were perhaps rather worryingly a pre-planned action and picked up the general's head, bringing it with them.

Griffith wanted to shout and scream in warning to his comrades but found the tightness of the wolf's grip made this impossible. Instead he wriggled and squirmed with discomfort but soon realised that he had no little choice in this matter either- the wolf was far stronger than he looked. Rather indignantly he was then thrown to the ground and the wolf alpha placed a foot on his head, holding him there. All the breath was knocked out of his body and all he could do was lay there, panting heavily.

 _Kill him, kill him quickly, before he has a chance to strike again!_ He pleaded desperately.

Around them, he saw that the warriors of the wolf tribe were soon gathered in a protective circle around their leader. Griffith could see that they were all brandishing similar weaponry and any hope he had at that point quickly vanished. He had just seen what those weapons could do and he was no longer under any illusion that the gryphons would be able to resist in any meaningful manner unless they took heavy casualties in the process.

"Everyone! I have an important announcement to make!" The alpha then sneered, his voice echoing loudly across the encampment. "Come one, come all! Step right up!"

There was a rather delayed response as the inhabitants of the camp responded, some quicker than others. When a suitable amount of gryphon soldiers had been gathered, the wolf flicked his tail back and forth and smiled rather more amicably. He held his hands up in the air and began to speak.

"Tonight is a new beginning, friends! A start of something new in our special relationship!"

He paused a moment for effect, then drew a bloodied sword and motioned for his comrade to display the generals' severed head, waving them around for all to see. There were a few gasps of outrage and confusion but most were too shocked to mutter even a single word. The crowd fell abruptly silent.

The wolf then grabbed Griffith's scruff and pulled him upright, causing him to gasp in shock and discomfort. The point of a knife pressed against his spine abruptly and he froze, panting heavily. He could feel warm blood pouring down his back and he winced in pain.

"This gryphon soldier was witness to the final act of your now fallen general!" The wolf explained, "The traitor of which we speak was caught disobeying a direct order from the king and was about to strike us all down, had I not acted first! I challenged him to an honourable duel and I was victorious!"

Griffith under prompting with a jab of the knife nodded slowly as if to confirm this statement, his mind still struggling to catch up. He looked around at his fellow gryphons and felt in his very soul the utter shame and rejection emanating from his peers. He couldn't bare to meet any of their questioning gazes for even a second.

The young soldier didn't hear or understand much of what happened next, but he surmised from the repeated flashing of bright purple lights that some of the gryphon soldiers hadn't taken kindly to this change of leadership. Several ranks of gryphons fell in the confusion and everything went deathly quiet once more. Griffith felt tears forming in his eyes at last- of sorrow and guilt for what had just occurred. It all came crashing down on him all of a sudden like a tsunami of grief and despair.

 _So many dead and it's all my fault for not stopping the wolf in the first place! I should have seen it coming!_

The desolate initiate barely even noticed that he was being dragged back to the tent with the dragon prisoners inside. He suffered a harsh kick to the stomach which winded him on arrival and he coughed painfully, curling up into a ball. Several pained sobs rattled through his body and when he saw his dead comrade's eyes staring back at him from across the tent he just couldn't hold it back any longer. He was utterly lost, drowning in a sea of his own emotion. One of the dragons said something but he didn't care, lost as he was at that point.

It took several minutes to calm himself enough to even open his eyes again. When he did, he felt a new desire starting to burn in his chest, quickly overpowering his grief. His limbs were shaking, no longer with sadness, but rage.

 _My comrades can't have died in vain, their honour has to be upheld! That wolf needs to be killed!_

This was something that he suddenly realised could give him purpose again, a reason to live and keep on fighting. He stood to his feet with new determination and observed the two dragons with a critical eye, to see if they could be of any possible use to the vague plan beginning to form in his mind. The purple one returned his gaze with what looked like genuine sympathy but behind his calm exterior Griffith could sense that this dragon realised the all too likely outcome of what would happen next unless they acted decisively in the next few minutes.

"I need your help, dragon." Griffith explained to him, "I don't have time for games or questions with you, we have to move quickly! If I release you, I need your promise that you won't try to escape until the alpha is dead. Everything hangs in the balance now. Do you understand?"

The purple dragon hesitated for the briefest time and then nodded readily in agreement.

"I promise. I'll help- what do you need me to do?" He replied.

First, Griffith looked to the younger dragon. He looked to be barely conscious at that moment. His scales were unnaturally pale but there was simply no time to investigate further- the wolf would be returning at any moment. The initiate reached forwards with his talons and began to unravel the enchanted cord from the purple dragon as fast as he could.

Just before the final link was removed however Griffith sensed another presence approaching the tent and he was forced to hastily hide his work, scampering backwards at the same time. The wolf alpha pushed open the tent flaps at that moment and scowled menacingly at him, staff pointing in his direction.

"Stand at attention, initiate!" The wolf hissed. "I need you to do something for me."

The urge to survive was the only thing keeping the gryphon soldier going at that point so he dutifully saluted. The wolf looked at him up and down for a moment and seemingly satisfied, lowered the weapon. He then laughed loudly with clear delight, the sound echoing in Griffith's ears tauntingly.

"Okay good! A bit of cooperation at last!" The wolf grinned. "I think you get it now don't you buddy? I run this place, and that means you follow everything I say from now on!"

There was a pause and the wolf looked to the slain gryphon on the floor, a wicked smirk tugging at his lips. "Unless of course you wanna end up like your buddy here, huh?"

Griffith stiffened and held his head proudly. "No, sir!"

The alpha licked his chops with obvious pleasure and then gestured to the shadow dragon on the floor with his staff. The wolf seemed to be very much enjoying himself now, as if he were in his element while bossing people around.

"First order, Initiate! I want you to get rid of this enemy soldier for me." The alpha explained. "I don't care how you do it, just make sure he's dead in the next few minutes. I don't trust shadow dragons, they're just too dammed _sneaky!_ If you do this for me, I'll let you live for another day. How does that deal sound to you?"

Griffith only trusted himself to nod in acknowledgement, fighting every instinct in his body not to leap forwards and strike the wolf down on the spot. It occurred to Griffith then that to win this game, he had to make it seem as if he had given in already. It would be the only way in which the alpha would feel comfortable enough to let down his guard!

"Well, now that nasty business is out of the way, I'm gonna let you have some fun!" The wolf chuckled. "Come find me when you're done. I'm sure there'll still be plenty of graves for you to dig when you get back. It's a busy camp out there, friend. Lots of traitors to bury!"

The tent closed once again as the alpha left, whistling a merry tune to himself. It lingered in the gryphon soldier's mind for far longer than it should have done and made him feel distinctly uneasy. Through the brief gap in the tent opening Griffith saw that two wolf warriors were now standing guard outside. He winced in dismay and walked back to the dragons as fast as he could, lowering his voice as to not be heard.

"What's his name?" Griffith asked, trying to shake the younger dragon awake. He only partially succeeded, for his bright red eyes opened for only a second before snapping shut again. The dragon sighed and fell limply back to the ground once more. He felt distinctly cold and the initiate frowned with worry. _Perhaps it was some kind of internal bleeding from the earlier torture..._

"He's Ferenth. I'm Spyro." Came the reply. "What do you intend to do?"

Griffith's plan was now falling rapidly into place in his mind however and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. It was a very risky and dangerous game to play, but he knew it was their only chance to stop an impending war...

"Listen carefully, Spyro..."

* * *

 **AN: Hello again everyone! Not dead, just slow in updating, sorry!**

 **Just curious, did anyone see this coming? I intended this to be a surprise twist D:**

 **A special thank you to my first beta reader 7sky for going through this chapter and pointing out some errors and suggesting improvements! I wonder what's going to happen next chapter? Hmmm! Interesting things are coming, I'm sure...**

 **See you next time and thanks for reading! As always any feedback in a review is good feedback whether positive or negative :)**


	7. Reunions

The sound of something falling and breaking into a million pieces shattered the silence of the night, echoing loudly throughout the darkened house. Sparx hovered on the spot in horror, his little heart beating frantically in shock as he saw the now irreparably damaged vase coming to a stop from its tumble in the middle of the lounge. He withdrew his outstretched hand and winced, terrified that he'd just accidentally woken the sleeping terror in the next room over.

"Hush little she-dragon, don't make a sound..." He whispered fearfully, eyeing the nearby closed curtains with dread. "Sparx is gonna fix this before you...kill...him!"

A sudden roar of frustration a second later made him jump in surprise and the dark scaled menace herself came bounding out from the bedroom in a fury, her emerald eyes quickly narrowing in such a rage that Sparx unfortunately knew all too well at this point. In the faint moonlight filtering in from the open window behind him, Cynder's sharp claws and tail blade glinted dangerously with clear purpose. He felt his body starting to tremble anxiously just at the sight of it. _This dragoness was truly terrifying!_

He tried to laugh nervously to break the obvious tension in the room but she didn't seem impressed with this in the slightest. She looked down accusingly at the broken vase and then back to him, her scowl deepening significantly. Before he could utter a single word to explain himself she simply growled to pre-emptively silence him.

"You know what? I really don't care what your excuse is this time..." She snarled angrily, whipping her tail back and forth with clear agitation. "This sort of thing stops tonight you little pest, I've had enough! First you come in here and break my stuff and then you just sit there grinning like its all just one big joke? Newsflash Sparx- it isn't! Some of us have to go to work tomorrow for ancestors sake! Just look at all this mess you've made!"

As humour was the only way in which Sparx felt comfortable in confronting her like this, he held a hand to his chest and acted as if her words had caused him physical pain by falling to his back and hovering still for a moment with his eyes closed. A slight smile of amusement tugged at his lips but when there was no forthcoming reaction however he simply sighed and looked at her more seriously.

"So before you send me to meet my maker and all, don't you at least wanna know what I've been up to in the council chambers tonight?" He asked rather hesitantly, rolling his eyes. When she just stared at him blankly he groaned in exasperation.

"Hey don't give me that look, nobody saw me this time I swear! I heard all kinds of stuff that they were talking about in there, it was a goldmine this time, Cyn. Honest!"

Cynder held her furious stare for several moments longer before relenting slightly and raising an eyebrow in curiosity at last. For a second she seemed uncertain of how to respond.

"You mean to say that you actually got in there without being stopped by security for once?" She eventually replied, her tense posture relaxing somewhat. For the briefest moment, she even looked a little impressed. "How did you even mange to get in there in the first place? I thought it was all locked down at this sort of time of night..."

Sparx puffed out his chest proudly and laughed with clear amusement. "Oh it wasn't easy, trust me! But you know what, you were actually right about something for once. They really were talking about what Spyro's been doing this time. You're gonna wanna listen to this!"

Her expression softened immediately on hearing his brother's name being spoken out loud and she fell to her haunches in silence, apparently at a loss for words. Most of her anger seemed to evaporate in that very instant and her eyes widened with such a deep longing that it very quickly reminded him that he wasn't the only one who loved that big purple oaf. It made him squirm a little uncomfortably and he sighed.

"Tell you what, why don't you go sit yourself down somewhere and we can talk about it after I've tidied this up?" He then proposed, gesturing towards the broken vase on the floor. She followed his line of sight and frowned slightly, as if she didn't believe him.

"And I'm really sorry for breaking your stuff." He added with a genuine smile of apology, "I know how hard these last few weeks have been and I don't wanna make that any worse for you. I get it, I really do..."

She blinked a few times and then nodded hesitantly in understanding at last, gifting him with a faint thankful smile of her own in return. It was obvious though that she was nearly at the end of her tether right now so he even uncharacteristically went up to pat her head comfortingly to which she only sighed, leaning into him slightly. The moment passed quickly though and he soon flew back a little to give her some space.

"Okay sure." She eventually replied. "But you're still a jerk for waking me up like that Sparx. I'm not just gonna let you off the hook that easily, you know..."

He shrugged admittedly in defeat and rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, yeah. I know. 'don't let it happen again or you'll squish me', I get it! I've heard all this before, sister!"

Cynder chuckled tiredly and yawned, allowing her tail to fall back to the ground wearily. Her whole body seemed to be sagging with fatigue all of a sudden and he was shocked at how drained she looked. Her obvious pretence of normality just vanished in that second and he couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

"Hey Cyn, is everything okay?" He asked curiously, tilting his head in worry. "You don't look so great..."

A brief moment passed where she swayed on the spot for a few seconds, quickly clasping a paw to her stomach with an uncomfortable grimace on her expression. All of a sudden her eyes widened desperately and she barged past him to the nearby window where she promptly vomited painfully several times over the side. He winced in sympathy as he saw this and reached out a hand to rub her back whilst the convulsions came to a stop. The whole episode only lasted for a few seconds but it was obvious that she was in some major discomfort from the way that she coughed and gagged several times shortly afterwards.

"Easy, Cyn...easy..." He tried to say comfortingly, feeling a little awkward. "You'll be okay..."

She took a moment to spit away the remaining liquid and shakily wiped her mouth with a paw, pulling herself back inside with his help. Her whole body was shivering now and she padded over to a nearby cushion and curled up there, clutching her upset stomach again with a groan.

"This is your fault for making me run like that!" She quickly scowled at him. "You know I'm not well Sparx! Ancestors above! Can't I just have one night where I don't throw up... jeez!"

He watched her for a second and simply folded his arms, frowning sympathetically.

"How long has it been this bad? I honestly had no idea." He muttered quietly, "Do you want me to get you anything, some water maybe? That didn't look very fun..."

"Look, it really doesn't matter right now." She quickly snapped back with a growing sense of impatience, waving a paw in dismissal. "Just tell me about whatever it is that you heard in that council meeting. I need to know if it's about Spyro..."

He still hesitated for a moment however, uncertain of what to do. She still looked terrible and it felt wrong somehow to just continue as if this little incident had never happened at all. When her eyes started to glare at him in that ever so furious and determined way that was so typical of her however, he wisely decided to comply with her request before she got any madder.

"Okay, er... gimme a second..." He replied, wondering for a moment how best to explain.

"Aha, right! Got it!"

He buzzed off into the bedroom and returned a few minutes later with a map of the dragon realms in his hands. During this time Cynder had managed to to sit herself at the dining room table on a comfy looking cushion, waiting expectantly for him to return. Her bright green eyes studied him carefully in the brief moment in which it took for him to lay out the map in front of her. He thought briefly about saying something further about the way she was still shivering slightly but quickly disregarded the idea as she began to stare him down with an impatient gaze.

"Well?" She snapped, tapping her claws on the table.

"Er...right!" He grinned nervously, scratching the back of his head with a chuckle.

"So anyway, Spyro said that he was in a place called Avion didn't he? Well, it just so turns out that the gryphons call it something else and that's probably why we couldn't find it on these maps before. I think, anyway..."

She raised an eyebrow and simply nodded as he continued. "From what I heard in the council chamber tonight though Cyn, I'm pretty sure that it's somewhere around...here!"

He indicated with an outstretched finger to a small dot that seemed to represent a settlement of some kind near the eastern borders of the dragon realms. It looked like the village was surrounded on three sides by high mountains and valleys, exactly the sort of place that the council had described in their meeting. It was also however rather worryingly close to another much larger gryphon town only a few miles away across the border. Cynder's eyes widened with what looked like faint recognition when she saw this because it seemed to correspond with what she'd heard about the place as well. She eventually nodded slowly in agreement once again with his assessment.

"What's he doing all the way over there in a place like that?" Cynder mused out loud, humming in thought. "From what he wrote in his last letter, it sounded like something serious just happened there and that he was really worried about it getting worse. Did you hear anything that could help explain that? He wasn't exactly being very specific..."

The little golden dragonfly folded his arms and sighed just loudly enough for her to hear. He narrowed his eyes with clear worry which very quickly drew her full attention.

"Well yeah, actually." He frowned. "Now that you mention it, I did hear that there was some kind of incident there about a week ago. There was apparently some rumour going around that the gryphons were going to attack Avion and from the sounds of it, the council sent Spyro there to help to stop them getting any funny ideas in the meantime. They also sent out some soldiers a couple of days ago, if you remember. That's where they're going, to Avion, to stop it before it gets worse..."

He gulped and hesitated for a second or two, knowing that Cynder wouldn't like at all what he had to say next. She eyed him curiously, seemingly sensing something wasn't quite right and was about to speak then, only he luckily though he managed to get there first.

"Or at least, that's what their original plan was, anyway." Sparx concluded with another hefty sigh. "They don't really know if that worked out or not..."

Cynder's brow tightened in obvious worry and her claws gripped the table a little tighter. It was obvious that she was desperate for further information by the way in which she leaned forwards now, almost pleadingly.

"What do you mean they don't know?!" She almost whispered. "Is Spyro okay? Where is he now? Is he hurt?"

Sparx shook his head sadly and raised his arms in a shrug. "Well you see, that's the thing!" He frowned, "Right now nobody knows for sure what's been going on over there because no messages have been getting in or out for a couple of days now. The council thinks their couriers are being intercepted by the gryphons. Until the Warfang soldiers arrive sometime tomorrow evening, Terrador said that we won't know anything more until then..."

He folded his arms and looked down at her sympathetically at that point, her eyes widening with horror. "That means we're gonna have to wait too, Cynder. I don't like it either, but that's the truth..."

The black dragoness' eyes narrowed dangerously with frustration now, her tail flicking back and forth with clear impatience with how things were proceeding. Clearly these were not the answers she had been looking for and he found himself instinctively gaining some distance from her, knowing all too well what she was capable of when she was upset.

"Look, I just don't understand what you're telling me Sparx. Why would the gryphons want to attack a tiny dragon village out in the middle of nowhere in the first place? They're not stupid, they wouldn't risk fighting Spyro and starting a war with us for no reason. There's no way it can be that simple and I refuse to believe that Spyro would just let them get away with it in the first place..."

Sparx suddenly found himself grinning slightly. To him, the answer was quite plainly obvious.

"Well you're kinda forgetting one important little detail..." He explained, "Gryphons. Are. Crazy! That means they don't need a reason to do stupid stuff like wanting to attack a dragon village do they? I mean, the last time I so much as looked at one funny he actually tried to eat me whole. Even you dragons don't do that kind of thing, sheesh!"

He paused and then smirked at her knowingly. "Well I mean, apart from you obviously, that is...you're a special exception..."

Cynder chose not to respond to this statement, instead simply looking down at the map again in concentration. Her expression was unreadable for several moments but when she finally spoke again, it was with a strange tone of resignation that he understood was borne from her sense of helplessness about the current situation. Truthfully, He felt the same way.

"Look Sparx, right now I really don't care about what the gryphons may or may not be doing in that village. Is that honestly all you heard about Spyro?" She asked pleadingly, "All I want to know is that he's safe and unharmed and that I've been worrying all this time for nothing...was there anything else at all? Any little mention of him that you might have just forgotten? There has to be _something!_ "

When he shook his head sadly she fell silent again for a few moments, lost in thought. Eventually he began to see her sharp claws beginning to dig into the table again and she suddenly whipped her tail back and forth a few times in frustration, her expression hardening significantly.

"All right then, that's it, I've had enough!" She eventually huffed, "Come on Sparx, we're going to go see Terrador or one of the other guardians in person to find out what we can do to find out where Spyro is. They have to know more about what's been going on and I'm not just going to sit here all nice and safe if he's hurt out there and needs me! I'm his mate for ancestors sake, I should be helping him!"

Just as she was getting up to leave however Sparx buzzed in front of her face and shook his head quickly, making her pause in surprise for a second. She regarded him impatiently and he winced with the ferocity of her determination. He appreciated her willingness to go putting herself in danger obviously, but not at _his_ expense!

"Hey look, just wait a second!" Sparx stammered nervously. "If you go now they'll know I was spying on their little meeting, Cyn! They'll squish me!"

"And?" She replied with a raised eyebrow. "Why is that my problem?"

He groaned with exasperation and face-palmed. She seemed entirely unconcerned with his frustration and worry which he found quite irritating.

"Look, why don't we just wait until morning and try then? That way at least nobody has to get squished and you get to have a nice long lie-in. Everyone's a winner! Besides, there's no point rushing to do something right now is there? It's still the middle of the night. Unless I'm mistaken, you're in no position to go out flying anywhere anyway..."

Cynder hesitated on the spot, swaying slightly with fatigue once again. She couldn't help but yawn tiredly and eventually conceded with a slight nod of her head in reluctant agreement.

"Okay fine. But we're going tomorrow morning first thing to find the guardians. It's high time that we did something about this, Sparx! As Spyro's family we have a right to know more and it's driving me crazy! I can't deal with all this constant worrying anymore, it's killing me."

The little golden dragonfly dipped his head in agreement. "Yeah, I know what you mean..."

"Right, well in that case I'm going to bed." She promptly stated, "Stay or don't stay, I really don't care what you do. Just make sure that you're here tomorrow morning first thing or I'm going to the temple without you!"

* * *

A gorgeous golden sunrise pouring in through the open window greeted Cynder the following morning, gently stirring her back to consciousness. The gentle flickering rays reflected off her scales with a comforting warmth that soothed her very being and she found herself smiling without fully understanding why. Something about the peaceful environment in the bedroom at that moment just seemed to resonate deeply with her and for a while she laid there in silence, enjoying the moment.

Eventually though she felt the painful cramping of her muscles and had to stretch out, her limbs feeling rather stiff and sore for being in one place for so long. Just as she was about to move though something curious caught her attention and she span her head in the direction of an odd sensation, unable to understand at first why she was seeing a slight yellow glow emanating from her curled up tail.

"Sparx?" She asked curiously, tilting her head to get a better view. She suddenly gasped in surprise.

 _Was he really..? Yes, yes he was..._

Sat nestled comfortably between two folds of her tail, the little golden dragonfly looked rather contented at that moment, snoozing peacefully and blissfully unaware of his surroundings. His gentle and repetitive snoring reminded her of Spyro for some reason and a knowing smile tugged at her lips. It was oddly refreshing to see him behaving so comfortably around her for once, and it made her heart feel warm inside.

"Aww..." She giggled quietly. "That's cute..."

Eventually after several minutes had passed however, she soon began to realise that it would literally be hours before Sparx woke up by himself. In this regard he was rather like his brother! She sighed regrettably and reached out with a claw to rouse him, shaking him as gently as she could.

"Sparx, c'mon. Wake up. We've got to go..."

In response the little insect rather adorably hugged her tail and groaned, turning away from the sunlight shining in his eyes. Cynder just frowned and tried again, this time a little more forcefully.

"Five more minutes mom..." He mumbled tiredly, still not quite fully awake at that point. It took her a few more determined attempts until his eyes finally fluttered open at last, a disapproving scowl pulling at his face. He quickly let go of her tail after realising what he'd been doing though and folded his arms, as if to pretend it never happened. His cheeks flushed an unusual bright red colour and it was hard for her to suppress the natural urge to laugh and make fun of him.

"Wow, Cynder! What sort of time do you call this?!" Sparx tried to jest, his words trembling slightly. "Morning you said, not first sunlight! There's a difference you know, stupid reptile!"

Cynder let his obvious outburst of embarrassment slide without comment, as if she hadn't even noticed what he'd done in the first place. She'd remember it for teasing purposes later though, certainly. Unfortunately the time for joking around with him would have to come later. Right now they had something rather more important to be doing, regardless of whether or not he realised it!

"Good morning to you too, little lantern..." She smirked, greatly enjoying the way he bristled with agitation on hearing her pet name for him.

"Evil witch! I was having a really good dream too..." He retorted with a scowl.

The black dragoness finally got up to stretch then, her joints popping several times comfortably. Letting out a long yawn in the process, she walked into the kitchen and peeked into the cupboards curiously, feeling rather peckish. Unfortunately she soon discovered that they were once again void of anything substantial to fill her rumbling stomach and she sighed in disappointment.

It was probably her own fault for having such a large dinner the previous night but this realisation didn't help her feel any better. Her appetite had been nigh on insatiable these last few days and even now the familiar pangs of hunger began to claw at her belly when she thought about food.

 _This was just getting insufferable! As if I don't have enough problems to deal with already! First the sickness and headaches, now the constant hunger... ugh! I don't get it!_

As Sparx finally caught up to her he groaned in exasperation when he realised there was no food for breakfast and pouted, hands resting on his abdomen. As if for comedic effect his stomach grumbled hungrily at that point and she smirked with faint amusement as a result.

"Man I'm starving!" He whined needfully. "Can we stop somewhere first to get something? I 'aint marching around the city looking for nobody until I've had a decent meal, Cynder! Just what kind of crappy sleepover do you call this? You're the worst host I've ever had!"

"I think you just read my mind, actually." She replied, grinning slightly as she spared a glance in his direction. "But we can't take too long though or the guardians will probably get dragged into another council meeting or something. It'll have to be something really quick where we don't have to wait around to be served."

"Oh, I know just the place!" The little dragonfly suddenly grinned with glee. "In the marketplace, it's perfect. Literally it's just grab your stuff and go. You'll love it!"

She rolled her eyes in vague amusement and walked back into the lounge, quickly retrieving her trusty satchel from where she'd left it the previous night. After checking that the small pouch of coins to pay for food was inside, she promptly swung it over her head into its usual spot and waited as Sparx fiddled with door lock. As soon as it was open she set out from the house at a brisk trot in the general direction of the markets, smiling as the warm sunlight caressed her scales comfortingly once again. The little golden dragonfly buzzed by her side, wincing with the sudden brightness instead, as if he was hurt by it.

"This is just too early man...are you sure we can't just go back to sleep for a little bit and try again later?" He asked with a yawn, prompting her to giggle light-heartedly.

"Sure, you can sleep as long as you want Sparx." She grinned, "But only after we've found out where your brother is!"

Sparx grumbled something under his breath in reply and folded his arms disapprovingly with a scowl on his face. "At least he knows what the term _'lie-in'_ means! You're a real slave driver, you know that?"

Cynder regarded him with a playful smirk and ran forwards a few steps, causing him to rush to catch up. She laughed out loud at his bemused expression. "Well at least this way I get things done, unlike you!"

As they spent the next few minutes bantering together it quickly became obvious to both of them that nobody else was either determined or insane enough to be up at this sort of time of morning. It actually made Cynder feel rather perversely amused to realise this. In their wanderings, the only other living creatures they saw were a few moles darting about the place in their never-ending attempt to keep the place tidy, mops and brushes furiously scrubbing away at the previous day's mess. The two oddly-matched companions went largely unnoticed as a result as they meandered steadily deeper into the city, their amicable joking and laughter echoing pleasantly across the deserted streets and alleyways.

It wasn't long until the scents of freshly cooked food filled the air and hovering besides her head, Sparx hummed excitedly. He licked his lips in anticipation and truthfully, Cynder could barely stop herself from doing the same. She angled their path in the direction of the many tantalising scents and found herself smiling expectantly as they approached the final archway before the marketplace. There was a butcher that she knew had just the right kind of meat slices for just such occasions where speed was required and she looked forwards to that moment immensely, imagining the warm juices running down her mouth in glee.

 _Mmm...tasty..._

Rounding the corner into the main market courtyard at last, Sparx suddenly giggled with excitement and pointed towards a small vendor opening up shop in the distance. She hesitated and followed his gesture with confusion, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh, oh! Look, they have swamp grubs today! You gotta try some, they're amazing!"

She rolled her eyes and followed him at a brisk trot, slightly curious now. As they approached however it soon became apparent to her that this shop specialised in dragonfly-orientated foodstuffs. Straight away she found herself rather hesitant to get too close on spotting several still-wriggling creatures on display. The dragonfly serving at the moment soon struck up a pleasant conversation with Sparx about their respective own swamp homes, but as fascinating as this was, Cynder was quite mindful of the time. She ended up having to clear her throat loudly to catch Sparx' attention before things dragged on for too long.

"Get what you want and let's go." She insisted. "We're in a bit of a rush, you know..."

The golden dragonfly paused in mid-sentence but had to concede this point with a scowl.

"Okay, four grubs for me and let's say uh... twenty. No- thirty...for my crazy sister in law here. She's also gonna be really nice and pay for it too because she owes me big time, don't you Cyn?" He grinned smugly, knowing that she was the only one with the foresight to actually bring money.

 _Why that little!_ She scowled disapprovingly.

"Well I suppose that makes sense." The older dragonfly ended up chuckling to Sparx before she could utter a retort. "It's normally your brother I end up seeing here but the more of your family the merrier, I say!"

Cynder remained silent to keep the peace, but on spotting the still squirming and slimy things that Sparx had just bought for her with her own money it was difficult to hide her revulsion. If anything though, she wasn't one to shirk from a challenge. It took all of her willpower to grab the bagged goods and not instantly throw them to the ground. Besides her, Sparx dug into his meal with such gusto that the loud slurping and crunching sounds he made almost made her want to be sick again.

"Can we go now?" She asked with a slight frown. "We're going to be late!"

Sparx swallowed his current mouthful and burped loudly. His grin was as wide as she'd ever seen it. "Sure! Man, that hit the spot! Are you uh, gonna eat yours...?"

Still aware that the vendor was watching them intently, Cynder sighed and reluctantly opened the bag. She stuck out her tongue and snapped up one of the grubs purely because she felt as if she had to in order to be polite. With a single crunch, the still moving grub suddenly exploded in her mouth, leaving behind a very sour after-taste that almost made her gag. She swallowed with some reluctance but found quite strangely that she ended up wanting more, despite the horrible taste and texture. Something inside her urged her to continue with great urgency and she ended up standing still on the spot, licking away the foul juices dribbling from her chin in surprise.

 _Well, that's certainly weird..._

"It's okay if you wanna throw up again, I'd understand." Sparx chuckled besides her, obviously amused by her reaction. "They're just not for everyone, Cyn. Heck, even Spyro struggles to get them down sometimes. I wont be offended at all, I promise..."

She turned to look at him with a knowing smile after realising his suddenly obvious plan to embarrass her. She looked down into the bag hungrily now and snapped up several more of the squirming creatures, much to his surprise. This was one game that he wouldn't win, she wanted to make sure of it. If there was one thing that she hated, it was loosing to Sparx.

"Well gosh, I really don't know what you're complaining about." She chuckled wryly, licking her lips clean once more. "These things aren't half bad, actually."

His mouth fell open in surprise, obviously dismayed by this sudden turn of events. "No way! Seriously? You couldn't even look at them a minute ago!"

She only shrugged in reply, feeling rather surprised herself truthfully. They still tasted and felt just as repulsive as before, but eating them was like fulfilling a craving she never knew she even had, and it was utterly addictive. Her body just seemed to be begging for more and who was she to argue?

"I guess, yeah!" Cynder grinned triumphantly. "Now shut up and get flying! We've got some guardians to find!"

Sparx scowled and started to lead the way in a huff now whilst Cynder happily crunched away until the bag was empty. She hummed contentedly and looked down at the now empty container, wishing that there had been more. Her stomach still growled hungrily at that point to which Sparx regarded her with a raised eyebrow. Thankfully a sharp glare from her was all it took to to put him in his place before he made another joke at her expense.

They reached the temple only a few minutes later, finding it almost deserted as well. As Sparx hadn't been inside this place for quite some time and subsequently found himself getting lost, Cynder soon ended up retaking the lead and directed them at last towards the inner sanctum where the guardians were likely to be found. Along the way she couldn't help but smile knowingly as she heard Sparx's reaction to seeing the inner parts of this place for the first time. There were lots of ' _ooohs'_ and ' _aaahs!'_

"Whoa! That's that big creepy statue from the old temple!" He gasped when they reached the main underground atrium. "Talk about a blast from the past, huh? How'd they manage to get that thing in here? Do you think my old room is in this place too?"

She chuckled to herself and shrugged. "I dunno, I've never asked actually. It might not even be the same one you know. Stuff changes over the years after all."

Knowing this place rather intimately now from a week of doing various odd-jobs in here, Cynder padded around the empty corridors curiously, hoping to bump into the earth guardian Terrador at his office. Unfortunately by the time they arrived the door was sealed shut, as were the other guardian's offices as well. They must have already left by this point and on realising this Sparx almost left in a sulk, obviously all too happy to give up searching. Cynder simply growled angrily to bring him back into line though and he jumped in surprise, quickly turning around to face her.

"What?" He then scowled, "We can't do anything here so we might as well go back home and wait!"

Cynder considered this problem carefully for a few seconds and tapped her claws on the ground in frustration. Something as simple as a door wasn't about to stop the former terror of the skies from getting what she wanted, that was for sure! A plan quickly came to mind and she grinned excitedly.

"Hey, do me a favour Sparx." She smirked, "I want you to shout real loud if you see anyone coming towards us, okay? I'm gonna go take a quick look inside Terrador's office and see if there's anything useful in there."

The golden dragonfly raised an eyebrow in confusion and buzzed a little closer to her with clear incredulity on his expression. "Huh? But it's locked. How are you gonna..."

She answered his question with a cheeky smile and by summoning her shadow element, a few faint wisps of black smoke slowly beginning to envelop her entire body. She all but disappeared as a result, leaving him to cough and splutter in her wake.

"Okay! Fine!" He scowled. "Just don't take too long. I'm not waiting out here all day!"

Satisfied now, Cynder was then free to concentrate her very hardest on slipping through the very narrow gaps of shadow that permeated the locking mechanism on Terrador's office door. It was a long and drawn out procedure that took several minutes but eventually she came rolling out of the other side grinning in victory. Her paws sank a few feet into the thick carpet and she had to stand there for a moment, panting heavily with exertion.

Once her lungs had stopped burning, she began to poke around the office curiously, looking for anything even remotely of interest. The several rows of shelving on which Terrador kept his various potted plants and glistening rare stones gave the place a very homely and cosy feel to it, which made her feel strangely at ease despite knowingly trespassing. She'd spent many hours in Terrador's previous chambers in the swamp temple and it was certainly a very nostalgic experience to find that little had changed. Aside from the fact that everything felt far smaller than she remembered it, of course.

Disregarding such thoughts for the moment however, Cynder soon found something that caught her attention at the desk in the far corner. With an excited trot to her step she quickly padded over to it. Scattered all over the surface were various documents, maps and charts. It was certainly a promising start at least and she attacked the task with an insatiable desire to learn whatever she could, working as fast as physically possible.

She must have skimmed through at least several dozen official council memos and transcripts before her optimism slowly began to fade away. Most of these documents were so far out of date as to be useless or contained no valuable information in the slightest. It was enough to make her groan in frustration and want to bang her head against the desk repeatedly.

 _How could there be so much useless stuff here?! There has to be at least something!_

Cynder was just about to leave in disgust when suddenly she spotted something dated fairly recently, catching her attention at once. Dragging the piece of paper closer, she looked curiously upon at a diagram showing a drawing of an object only labelled as a ' _dark energy elemental projection and extraction device'_. With a smirk she realised this was in Volteer's rather eccentric style of handwriting and rolled her eyes in vague amusement.

 _Just what was this thing though?_ _What did it do?_ She wondered. It looked like a staff of some kind, tipped with what on first glance appeared to be a spirit gem of sorts. There were further labels coming from the various parts and pieces but were unfortunately written in some language that she didn't understand. The way in which the letters flowed together neatly and had an air of elegance about them however suggested that this was perhaps the work of a gryphon or perhaps even a panther. She found it all rather puzzling and couldn't imagine what this device could be used for.

Apparently though, Volteer understood what it was perfectly. Much of his writing and annotations consisted of lengthy equations and measurements that were, to her at least, completely incomprehensible. The only thing that stood out was a circled phrase written in Terrador's handwriting at the bottom;

 _'Do not remove from council archive under any circumstance! Must be kept well hidden from prying eyes!'_

Cynder rested her head on a paw and frowned, looking back up at the drawing curiously once again. This object seemed vaguely familiar to her all of a sudden, but she wasn't exactly sure where from. It was like something she'd seen in a dream, or...-

A knock on the door made her jump in unexpected shock and she instantly snapped her head around purely from instinct to listen more carefully. She held her breath, not daring to make another sound.

"Someone's coming!" Came a faint voice that she recognised as Sparx echoing through the thick wooden door. "Get out of there!"

Cursing loudly, Cynder ran to the exit immediately. This meant unfortunately that she had to leave the curious document behind in the process. Drawing upon the power of her shadow element once more she slipped through the narrow gap and re-materialised next to where Sparx was waiting anxiously a second or two later, using far more force and energy than she would have liked. He looked rather flustered and gestured towards the corridor from which they had entered only minutes earlier.

"They're coming from that way! Sounds like a dragon!" He hissed urgently.

Panting heavily with such a sudden exhaustion that it shocked her, Cynder found his words not really sinking in. Her heart was beating so furiously it almost felt as if it were about to leap out of her chest. Sagging to her haunches, she fought back another wave of nausea as well, trying her hardest not to throw up. It was at that point that she belatedly remembered the advice of her doctor on taking the medicine in the morning as well. In her rush to get here, she'd obviously forgotten that one important little detail...

 _You've only yourself to blame for this, idiot!_ She mentally scolded herself. Besides her, Sparx watched in obvious concern, pumping his fist desperately as the sound of the approaching dragon grew nearer.

"Get up Cyn, c'mon!"

Miraculously she managed to pull herself together just in time for Ariya, the custodian of the hatchery, to walk around the corner at long last. She stopped just short of the corridor entrance and stared at them both with clear surprise on her expression.

"Cynder! Sparx! Goodness, I didn't expect to see anyone here this early." The sapphire-scaled dragoness smiled warmly. "Are you here to help out before the children get here Cynder? I did sent out a letter but I wasn't sure that Ember actually delivered them. That silly girl has been rather lax recently..."

Truthfully Cynder didn't know what else to do at that point so just simply nodded dumbly. Getting stuck into some early work was a far better alternative than trying to explain why they were stood rather suspiciously outside Terrador's locked office, so she decided to roll with it.

"Err, yeah!" She grinned hastily. "Early start, early finish. That's what you always say, right?"

Ariya's eyes twinkled with obvious delight at this turn of phrase and her smile widened significantly. "Ah, good, so you did get the letter! Come on then, let's get started. If we're quick we'll be done before lunchtime!"

Ariya then trotted around the corner in the direction of the hatchery and once she was out of earshot Cynder let out a sigh of dismay and looked to her companion pleadingly. In response he deliberately wiped his forehead comically, grinning to himself with clear amusement at her current dilemma.

"Stop it! It's not funny!" She scowled. "I'm gonna be stuck here for hours!"

Sparx chuckled cheerily in response and folded his arms. "Hey look, it's not so bad! At least you got away with breaking into a guardian's office. That's way better than what I could pull off, you should be proud!"

Cynder frowned and forced herself to follow Ariya's lead rather begrudgingly. Sparx's amused laughter echoed throughout the hallways after her and she cringed.

 _So much for confronting the guardians! This was going to be a long day..._

* * *

The setting sun burning on the horizon illuminated the golden-tipped buildings of the city in its usual fiery glow, making everything twinkle beautifully before the coming night. Many dragons and other city-goers were just starting to make their way home at this sort of time now, most of them laughing and joking among friends and family members in the process.

It was supposed to be a time of relaxation, but Cynder just really wasn't feeling it at this point. Her paws hurt, her back was aching, and worst of all, they still hadn't managed to do the very thing they had set out to do in the first place!

"Why does the world hate us Sparx?" She groaned in exasperation out loud. "This is so annoying!"

Fluttering besides her, the little golden dragonfly nodded in silent agreement, yawning tiredly in the process. He stretched out his arms and simply shrugged thereafter, seemingly not in the mood to argue.

"Yeah, tell me about it..."

It had been quite a long and unproductive rest of the day, to say the least. Ariya's prediction of being finished by midday had been way off, not taking into account the fact that Ember would be calling in sick that afternoon. It meant that they had been far too late in getting to the guardians before they became unavailable as a result, and with no other leads to follow, they had little choice now but to head home with nothing. It was a disastrous end to a disastrous day, and the only thing Cynder could think to look forwards to at that point was settling down at home and going to bed. It was really that bad.

The journey back seemed to take an age longer than normal as a result of their tiredness and it was only by sheer willpower alone that Cynder managed to finally reach into her bag and extract the key for the lock with a paw. Besides her, Sparx whistled impatiently. She tutted at him in annoyance and was just about to push it into the keyhole but found herself hesitating at the last second in uncertainty and surprise at what she saw. The lock was crooked and had obviously been forced, the door itself slightly ajar...

 _Someone's broken in! Ancestors above!_

Her heart began to hammer away furiously in her chest and she immediately felt wide awake again all of a sudden as adrenaline began to race through her veins. She glanced at Sparx with the utmost urgency and held up a claw to her mouth, signalling for him to remain quiet. He seemed to want to protest at first, but on realising the situation he nodded slowly and backed away to give her some space, frowning with apprehension and worry.

Cynder lowered her body to the ground carefully and peeked her head inside without making a sound, every muscle in her body tense and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. Everything in there was deathly quiet, but it was immediately obvious to her that someone had been inside recently. Some of the carpet had harsh claw marks dragging across its length and certain ornaments and mementos of Spyro's were left smashed and destroyed, strewn out untidily all over the floor as if someone had been looking for something in a great hurry. She stared at it all for a few seconds with so much rage and hurt starting to churn in her gut that it froze her to the spot in dismay.

 _How dare someone do this! This is our home! I'll kill them for this!_

Silently simmering with rage now, she stepped fully inside at last with her fangs bared in readiness. At that point she was almost willing the cowardly intruder to show themselves to meet her cold fury and retaliation. After a few circuits of the house however Cynder found out fairly quickly that unfortunately whoever had done this had long since disappeared without a trace. She sniffed around and detected a faint musky and unfamiliar odour, but apart from that, there wasn't a single shred of evidence that she could find. She roared out in frustration at this point, causing Sparx to yelp with fear from outside.

"I'm coming Cynder! Hold on!" He yelled out in panic.

"Don't worry I'm fine!" She yelled back at him, not even bothering to hide the malice in her voice as she prowled the lounge impatiently, flicking her tail back and forth with a feral snarl tugging at her lips. As soon as Sparx came into sight she kicked the wall angrily with her back legs, causing him to flinch. He had a look of total and utter bewilderment on his expression at first, looking around the room in a daze. He didn't seem to know what to say and for once, he was truly speechless.

"Whoa..." He gasped at last. "I uh... I guess this isn't exactly your idea of a home improvement, then...?"

She simply scowled in reply and dug her claws deeply into the carpet, concentrating on calming herself down. It took a great deal of time for her to begin to think rationally again after the red mist of anger slowly began to dissipate from her mind. The only way in which she would catch the culprit was to out-think them, and she knew the only way to do that was with a calm and clear mind...

 _Stay calm, just think! What do I need to do first?_ She pondered after taking a few deep breaths.

Looking around at a slower pace now, she spotted something glinting near to the corner of the room that caught her attention. Frowning, she found herself padding over to it with Sparx following silently in tow. As she approached, the faint shining light grew more indistinct until it resolved into several hundred individual shards of gemstone and metal fragments strewn untidily all over the carpet. She stared for quite some time, feeling incredibly puzzled by what she saw. She wasn't really sure what it was at all.

Her gaze just happened to then fall on a small single strand of purple cord among the debris. All of a sudden she realised what all of these pieces were and she staggered as if she'd been struck, cold dread filling her entire body. She sank to her haunches, a choked sob escaping her throat in horror and despair. These weren't random pieces of junk, they were the remains of the jade and opal necklace that Spyro had gifted to her when they first became mates all that time ago!

"This can't be happening... I can't... Oh ancestors!" She gasped, clutching a paw to her mouth.

Her vision began to blur as tears filled her eyes, unbidden. There were just no words for the pain aching inside her chest at that point. Everywhere she looked, more of the precious keepsakes from hers and Spyro's lives together over the years were laid there destroyed, broken or desecrated, quite obviously on purpose. Not a single one had been left untouched and the smashed items had been quite clearly laid out in a row for her to find like this. This wasn't a just an ordinary thief looking to make a profit by stealing something, this was a deliberate and cruel act designed to make them hurt and maybe even feel a little vulnerable. So far, it was working!

 _Why would anyone do this? What did they ever do to deserve it? This is the most horrible thing!_

For several uneasy moments she found herself teetering on the edge of breaking out into a weak and pathetic blubbering mess, clutching a few of the ruined items with shaky paws. She barely noticed Sparx's hand resting on her shoulder, or his faint words of reassurance that everything would be okay.

Right at that moment she wanted to do nothing more than to just howl out her anguish into the night sky until she could scream no more. The only thing that ended up stopping her from doing so was the sudden sound of an all too familiar voice that sent her heart suddenly fluttering.

"Cynder? Is that you? Is it really you...?"

She stopped sobbing immediately and snapped her head around, staring in shock for a few seconds at what she saw, not really believing what her eyes were telling her. It just seemed so unlikely and impossible at that point, she really didn't think it could be true- that it was her mind playing a cruel trick on her...

 _It couldn't be!_

Cynder blinked a few times to clear her vision and realised from the sudden gasp of surprise from Sparx that this was not just an illusion- that he was seeing it too. There really was a purple dragon standing in the doorway, and he really was staring at them with those vivid, beautiful...eyes...

The next few seconds happened so quickly it was hard for Cynder to understand what had happened. However, she somehow found herself herself being hugged tightly in a warm embrace, one of Spyro's strong forearms quickly wrapping around her chest with such an urgency it made her heart melt right there and then. It was like he'd never been gone at all and she just nuzzled tightly into his chest searching for comfort, finding herself unable to hold back all of the recent pain and and loneliness of the last few months any longer. With a final wail of despair she burrowed her head underneath his wing and let it all out at long last.

He simply cooed softly in response and rested his head on top of hers. For the next few long and wonderful minutes, her whole world became this tender moment. His oh so familiar scent and warm scales, the slight squeeze of reassurance. It was all too much and she cried and cried until there was nothing left. For the longest time they remained unmoving, locked together tightly in an embrace that neither of them was willing to give up.

Cynder however soon realised that something was wrong though. As her own sobbing came to a stop, she began to notice things she hadn't before. For instance, the several crusted wounds and other injuries marring Spyro's flanks and chest plate, the way in which every breath he took seemed to cause him minor discomfort, the way in which his left leg seemed to bow slightly in pain...

She started in alarm and tried to pull away quickly to get a better look at him. Feeling this, Spyro reluctantly released her and he stared down at her with fresh tears glistening in his eyes. Either from joy or sadness, she wasn't sure. His chest heaved a few times in an attempt to keep his composure and not break down totally in front of her, which she thought was rather brave. He tried to smile, but it was obviously a forced motion as well and didn't have any real depth to it. Truthfully, he looked terrified.

"I'm so, so sorry, Cynder..." he whispered quietly, nuzzling her once again. "Something terrible is happening out there and I think I've brought it back with me, I never meant for any of this to happen..."

He sniffed loudly and a few tears rolled down his cheeks as he beheld their destroyed keepsakes on the ground nearby. He visibly winced and shuddered, just drawing strength from her presence as she nuzzled his cheek affectionately in return. He was shaking terribly now and it took him a few moments to regain his composure, by which point he looked up at both of them again with such relief on his expression that Cynder couldn't help but feel her heart suddenly twinge in sympathy.

"We're safe now and that's all that matters, okay?" She said softly. "Talk to me, tell me what's wrong..."

His eyes widened and for a moment, he looked as if he were about to loose it again.

"I thought that he'd taken you and Sparx away to some place I'd never see you again, just to punish me..." Spyro stammered fearfully. "I was just so scared when I got back here and I found the house like this, that I didn't know what to do! I'm so glad you're okay! I thought I'd lost my whole family to this madness, and it hurt me so much to think that I'd never see you again, I j...just r-really cc...couldn't...-"

Cynder snapped forwards and kissed him on the lips at that moment, silencing him immediately before he could continue blabbering for much longer. His eyes widened with surprise and then relaxed slightly as he enjoyed the brief moment. As she pulled away, she held up a paw to his cheek and smiled weakly as he leaned into it with a long sigh.

"Forget about what's going on out there for now, okay? We're here for you. We can deal with this together..."

He looked deeply into her eyes for several seconds and eventually nodded in understanding, the tension he was carrying visibly relaxing somewhat in response. His eyes gazed briefly in the direction of their destroyed items once more, then to Sparx who at the moment had his arms folded and was looking quite annoyed with having being ignored for so long.

"I'm just so glad you're both safe." Spyro smiled with some conviction now, looking between them in utter relief, "I honestly never thought I'd see either of you ever again..."

His younger brother scowled at this and grunted in annoyance, catching Spyro by surprise. Both dragons looked to him at that point, waiting for him to speak.

"Well I think you at least owe us an explanation for all this, purple boy! You didn't see Cynder's face when she saw all this smashed up stuff! If you know who did it, spill the beans so we can go get 'em!"

Spyro looked back to Cynder then and let out a long sigh. His eyes seemed to glaze over, as if he were looking far into the distance at something only he could see.

"Okay, I'll tell you... but it's a long story..."

* * *

 **AN: Hello again dear readers! I'm so sorry for this update taking so long. It just kept going and going, with all these mistakes and errors popping up...**

 **I must have written the start of this chapter, at least according to my beta reader, six or seven times before feeling happy with it!**

 **Anyway, what do we think is going to happen in Spyro's "long story"? Anyone hazard a guess? :)**

 **I do like me some fluffs though, hopefully that was fairly apparent in this chapter at least. It was really difficult for me to convey the emotions in the way I wanted to, but I think it turned out alright in the end. What do you guys think? Let me know in a PM or review!**

 **Once again, many thanks to my beta reader 7sky for his brilliant inputs and suggestions. Probably wouldn't have finished this chapter at all without his help, thanks a bunch!**

 **See you next time! Hopefully it won't take nearly as long to write :P**

 **EDITED 27/12 for some better wording at the ending of the chapter...**


	8. Conflicts

_**A week earlier...**_

The enchanted restraints finally fell to the ground with a dull thud and Spyro gasped with welcome relief, just glad to be able to move again at last. He promptly rolled to his feet and swayed dizzily for a moment, his limbs feeling extraordinarily weak. His battered and bruised chest ached painfully as well, only allowing him to take the shallowest of breaths to avoid suffering greater discomfort. For the longest time he was left staggering on the spot, wheezing unsteadily.

"Oh ancestors! This hurts!" Was the simplest thing he could think to say, clasping a paw to his injuries with a grimace.

The silver feathered gryphon soldier looked at him rather guardedly at that point, ruffling his feathers with obvious unease. "Can you fight at least, dragon?" He asked worriedly, "We need to be quick if this plan is to succeed..."

It took Spyro a few moments to regain his composure but at last he nodded wearily, the gryphon relaxing his tense posture slightly in response. "I... I think so." He replied, "Just give me a second..."

Huffing in acknowledgement, the gryphon soldier then took a moment to peek outside the tent. He was only there for only a few seconds though before returning hurriedly, his expression deadly serious all of a sudden. Spyro didn't even get the chance to speak before he was rudely barged out of the way, the gryphon forcefully pushing past with such a haste to his actions it shocked him into a state of alarm as well.

"Wh...What did you see...?" Spyro asked in bewilderment, trying to look through the narrow gap himself, but failing to see anything out of the ordinary. "What's wrong?"

There was then the sound of something tearing and Spyro span around curiously, just in time to see the glistening and slightly luminescent contents of a fabric sack spilling out onto the floor at the gryphon's feet. His eyes widened with surprise as he realised that these were spirit gem fragments, quite probably the very same ones that the wolf alpha had used during their earlier _'talks'..._

"You can heal using these crystals, can't you?" The initiate asked then, almost desperately. When Spyro nodded eagerly, his gaze narrowed in determination. "Well however it works, do it quickly! Someone is coming and I need you to be prepared!"

Spyro quickly reached out with a paw at that moment without needing further prompting, sighing in blessed relief as several of the red spirit gem fragments were absorbed into his body, soothing his wounds in that oh so familiar and comforting way. He flexed a few muscles experimentally and was relieved to find that the aches and pains of recent events no longer troubled him anywhere near as much as before. It wasn't enough to bring him back to full fighting strength, but it would do for now.

"Did it work? Are you ready now?" The gryphon asked hesitantly, eyeing him with concern. When Spyro nodded thankfully in reply, the initiate promptly ran to the entrance of the tent again and parted the entrance carefully with a paw, staring intently at whatever was going on out there.

"Use whatever is left on your friend, Spyro. We might need the use of his element later..."

Spyro turned his attention to the still unconscious shadow dragon laid out on the ground between them at that point, and he hurriedly dragged the remaining spirit gem clusters onto his chest. The gems were absorbed quickly but no matter how long Spyro waited there was no apparent change in his companion's worryingly pale complexion. His laboured breathing seemed to be less rasping than before, but the few fragments of spirit gems he'd used on Ferenth were clearly not enough to rouse him back to wakefulness. He tried to call his name and shake him gently, but there was still no response.

"We'll have to take him with us." Spyro sighed at last, "He's not waking up and we can't just leave him, they'll kill him!"

"No!" Quickly snapped the gryphon in reply, "We can't carry him, he will only slow us down. There is more at risk here than just the life of a single dragon, even you must see that! If this is the god's will, then so be it. We'll have to make do without him!"

Spyro wanted to argue more than anything in the world, but the sound of clinking armour approaching from outside the tent at that point quickly snapped him back to full awareness. It was with the greatest regret that he forced himself to walk to the gryphon soldier's side then, readying himself both physically and mentally for whatever was to come.

"What do I call you?" Spyro thought to ask rather belatedly, dropping the subject of what to do with Ferenth for the moment. "Initiate, was it? Initiate what?"

"Griffith." The gryphon grumbled in obvious irritation, "Just get ready! We need to do this now! On my lead, dragon!"

They both waited with bated breath in silence for what felt like hours until the approaching wolf warrior was stood just outside the tent, conversing to the guards outside. Griffith's plan depended on surprise and violence of action to be successful and Spyro didn't want to ruin their only chance for it to work by speaking any further. Whatever happened in the next few minutes it was going to be some very bloody work indeed, but he understood the reasons for it all too clearly. If they failed, well... the consequences would be dire indeed!

 _Oh ancestors, please let this be quick..._

Spyro gasped in surprise then as a furry hand casually reached inside to open the entrance to the tent. Before Spyro could even blink though the gryphon soldier besides him had already leapt into action, quickly tackling his helpless victim to the ground and tearing away furiously with his deadly talons and beak until with a faint gurgle, everything fell deathly silent.

Spyro jumped into action at that point as well and drew upon his ice element desperately. The two other wolf guards stood outside literally didn't see what hit them, quickly impaled as they were by several piercing ice shards fired from his maw at close range. They were killed instantly as a result, collapsing to the ground limply as blood pooled from their wounds into the dirt. Spyro shuddered as he saw this grisly sight and tried his hardest not to think about it.

Griffith nodded towards Spyro in shaky thanks after this and quickly paced over to one of the fallen wolf soldiers, picking up one of their staff weapons in his bloody talons and studying it with a critical eye. He then proffered it to Spyro, who stared at it just as curiously. Aside from the pulsing light coming from the dark crystal at the tip, the staff didn't appear at first glance to have any kind of external firing mechanism or operator control. This seemed to worry Griffith greatly, as the use of this weapon was an integral part of his plan.

"I'm not sure how to use this..." The initiate stated worriedly after a moment of thought. "Have you seen anything like this before? Do you have any suggestions?"

Spyro had to frown and shake his head, to which Griffith's beak fall open in despair.

"I do recognise what those dark crystals are though, at least..." Spyro replied, gesturing with a paw to the end of the staff. The gryphon folded his wings tightly against his body and listened intently in response, his interest obviously piqued.

"They were used by Malefor ten years ago, to control the creatures and weapons that he used against us in the war through some ancient dark magic. He created them by corrupting spirit gems with some method that only he could fully understand, twisted as his mind was. I thought that we'd destroyed them all after the war ended because of the obvious danger of misuse, but I guess it's entirely possible that we could have missed a few in some obscure place that the wolf tribe happened to find and harvest..."

He slammed a paw to the ground then and sighed loudly, frowning sympathetically to the gryphon soldier. "I'm so sorry that we let this happen, Griffith. I guess that we were blinded by how peaceful and happy the realms were at that time that we didn't think to check more thoroughly for these old war relics as we probably should have done..."

Griffith simply grunted after absorbing this new information, avoiding Spyro's eyes for a moment. He hesitated for a few seconds longer to study the design of the weapon before he finally threw it to the ground in disgust and smashed the dark crystals underneath his paws with a scowl on his face.

"Let's clean up here, we don't want to attract any undue attention..."

Together on Griffith's direction, they then spent the next few minutes working quickly to drag the wolf corpses back inside the tent before anyone saw them. There was precious little they could do about the blood-stains on the ground, but for now, it would have to suffice.

"What now?" Spyro asked, panting heavily from the exertion. "If you can't use that weapon, we need another plan!"

The gryphon soldier frowned impatiently and he began to pace on the spot for several moments, obviously uncertain of how to proceed. Purely by chance then, he spotted the enchanted cord still strewn untidily on the floor nearby, his expression lighting up with an obvious idea all of a sudden. He reached out to it and picked it up in his paws, leaving Spyro staring in a respectful and curious silence.

"If I were to tie you up with this and bring you with me, I could say that you were summoned to speak to the wolf alpha in person!" Griffith explained hurriedly. "Nobody would be willing to confront us then, and we still might have a chance to strike! This could work, but only if we act before someone discovers what happened here..."

Spyro eyed the cord suspiciously though, knowing all too well the dangers this new idea posed. Being at the utter mercy of these staff weapons without the use of his elements didn't particularly appeal to him, as this enchanted rope seemed to somehow block the normal connection he felt to his mana reserves. It was with inventions like this that he had been captured in the first place. Griffith seemed to sense his unease however and eventually he frowned in understanding.

"Look, I'll leave the knot loose so that I can release it at a moment's notice. Does that sound agreeable to you?" Griffith asked, flicking his tail back and forth impatiently. "Otherwise, I fear we have no choice but to surrender, and that is a course of action that my honour will not allow! I will do this without you if I must, but I would much rather have your assistance. I need you to protect me from any elemental attacks they might use against me, otherwise I am defenceless against these accursed weapons of theirs!"

The purple dragon hesitated but eventually nodded and submitted to the gryphon's new plan, allowing the slightly luminescent cord to be wrapped around his neck once more, though not as tightly as before. It quickly wrapped closer to his body of its own accord however at the second it touched his scales, as if it sensed a dragon's presence somehow. Spyro was left wincing with discomfort as he felt his mana being suppressed once again. It was the oddest sensation, as if a part of himself was just...missing.

"Okay, let's go." Spyro stated at last, kneading the dirt beneath his paws in anticipation. "I'm ready."

At first, this new plan seemed to be working quite well. As they headed out of the tent together and angled towards the command tents where they assumed the alpha would be, they found that the other wolf warriors were far thankfully too preoccupied with other tasks to offer much more resistance than the odd curious stare in their direction. As for the gryphons, none of them seemed to understand what was happening at all, much less apparently willing to find out why a dragon was being paraded around in such an unusual manner. The hundreds of stares that followed them made Spyro frown wearily though, knowing all too well what damage a single shout of alarm would cause at this point.

 _Please don't say anything, please don't say anything!_

With a sudden sharp tug from the gryphon initiate leading him a second later though, Spyro almost found himself choking as they abruptly changed direction, angling away from a patrol of wolf warriors holding their weapons a little too handily for Griffith's liking. Close by though something odd caught Griffith's attention and it took Spyro a second or two to realise he was looking at the site of a recent bloody battle between the wolves and a band of gryphon soldiers. There were so many dead bodies laying all over the place that Spyro didn't quite know what to do or say about it. His mouth fell open in utter dismay.

Griffith ruffled his feathers slightly after following Spyro's line of sight and only gave him a single silencing and urgent stare before turning his attention back to where they were going. Before they got too close though, a terrifyingly familiar voice suddenly called out to them, making them freeze in despair.

"Hey, initiate! What's goin' on buddy? Where are you taking my new best friend, huh?"

Both of them span around in shock and surprise, eyes widening in dread. Sat atop a small tent pole, surrounded by several other wolf warriors, the alpha himself was grinning expectantly at them off to one side. He waved his staff weapon around and chuckled knowingly, looking between them both with clear delight.

"Cheetah got your tongue?" The wolf mused playfully, "No wait, lemme guess! You wanted to show me just how much of a really swell guy you are by bringing me a present, right? That's a gold star for you buddy, good job on the initiative! I like that!"

Griffith opened his beak to respond but no words came out. He was frozen to the spot in fear, obviously not having planned for this eventuality. It was just the reaction that the wolf was looking for apparently, because a second later he laughed out loud again and pointed his staff weapon in their direction, almost casually. His comrades did the same and Spyro gulped anxiously.

"You know, if I didn't already know how totally cool with this change of command you were, I might be tempted to think you were trying to get away or something! Got nothin' to say for yourself, eh?"

There was an uncertain and awkward pause.

"Riiiight...didn't think so!"

Griffith's tail twitched and Spyro only got a second of warning before he abruptly tugged at the enchanted restraint, allowing the knot to slip and fall to the ground. The moment of surprise that followed was enough for Griffith to leap forwards and tackle two of the wolf warriors to the ground without giving them so much as a chance to scream out in terror before he was upon them, tearing and slashing fiercely with a savagery that stunned Spyro into a moment of indecision. It was an utterly terrifying sight, one that Spyro didn't care much to see repeated!

At that second however Spyro felt the familiar tug of his elements once more though, which snapped him back to reality. Without further delay he quickly summoned a sphere of electricity around his body, running to put himself between Griffith and the remaining wolves who were still in the process of recovering from the shock of the initial attack. He felt the familiar loss of strength as several staff-blasts hit his protective shield shortly afterwards, but he managed to thankfully deflect away every single one whilst the gryphon viciously tore each remaining soldier to pieces, one by one.

"Oh it's on now!" The wolf alpha suddenly yelled out at that point, gritting his teeth. He leapt to the ground just out of range of Spyro's elemental shield and growled angrily at the two of them, pointing his staff weapon in their direction.

Griffith turned to face his final target at last and was about to leap forwards, only to be captured in mid-air by a sudden whirlwind of wind elemental energy, produced by the wolf alpha's staff weapon. Spyro watched helplessly as Griffith yelped in surprise then and was promptly tossed away into a nearby tent with a flick of the wolf's wrist, leaving him rolling around in agony on the ground as a result. It was obvious from a brief glance that one of his wings and forelegs was broken, his screams of distress echoing loudly throughout the night. He wouldn't be fighting any time soon, that much was very clear.

Spyro yelled out in dismay at the sight of this but he had no further time to think on it as he suddenly became the focus of the wolf alpha's attentions instead. He instinctively countered a blast of searing hot flames by summoning a wall of ice and then side-stepped to avoid being impaled by a powerful earth blast, the glowing tendrils of energy impacting the ground fiercely where he'd just been standing a second ago, flinging a million pieces of jagged rock in every direction.

"Oh, this is gonna be fun!" The alpha laughed with clear delight, "Let's dance, buddy!"

The unexpected ferocity and power of the various elemental attacks that followed shocked Spyro so much that he barely had time to spring backwards as a sudden glint of metal caught his eye, forcing him to leap into the air to avoid being beheaded by the wolf's sword. The extended blade missed his neck by only inches and he gasped in surprise as he felt the rush of air fly past.

 _This guy is good! Ancestors, I'll be lucky to get away alive, much less best him!_

Laughing almost playfully now, the wolf pointed the staff weapon at Spyro again and a sudden unexpected gust of wind toppled his balance, forcing him to come crashing to the ground painfully, knocking all of the air out of his lungs.

 _Oh, of all the things to fall for!_ Spyro mentally scolded himself. _You know better than this, get up!_

As he sat there panting heavily trying to recover, Spyro suddenly became aware of a strange tugging sensation in his chest. He snapped his head up and saw with heart stopping horror that the wolf's staff weapon was glowing menacingly in the moonlight. All of a sudden it felt as if his entire life force was being dragged out of his body from that moment on, and all Spyro could do was scream out in utter agony, the experience not all too dissimilar to his past experiences with such crystals. It took all of his concentration and determination to not collapse right there and then, but he was left utterly unable to resist in any other way than by gritting his teeth in a feral snarl of defiance.

 _I have to do something! But what?!_ Spyro despaired.

"Oh I think I'll enjoy using your own elements against you, prick!" The wolf grinned with clear malice, "Killing my guys is so totally not cool, man! I thought we had an understanding here! In case you didn't know, let me spell it out more clearly for you..."

Spyro yelled out again and turned in on himself as a new wave of unbearable pain shot through his entire being. He fell to the ground at last and curled up defensively as his limbs grew weaker and weaker, and he found it getting ever more difficult to even keep his eyes open any longer. He found his vision blurring and for a second, he thought that this was the end.

Suddenly though, the pain stopped, just as quickly as it had began. Spyro fell to the ground gasping for air in relief, clutching the dirt in his paws pitifully as the wolf laughed out loud with clear delight. He began to pace around Spyro in a circle, whistling cheerily as he did so, almost tauntingly.

"Man, you're so dammed lucky that I need you alive...you'd be so easy to finish off right now!" The alpha wolf sneered, laughing playfully once again. "Now listen up, buddy! I've got a plan for you, and you're gonna wanna listen to it!"

Spyro looked up wearily in confusion, meeting the wolf's intense gaze with a frown. He tried to struggle to his feet then, but after suffering a sudden sharp kick in the stomach from a nearby surviving wolf warrior he couldn't help but fall to the ground again, groaning as his whole body ached painfully.

"So I hear that you're some sort of big deal with your kind, right? They say that you're some kind of legendary dragon prophesied to bring peace to the world or something, huh?" The alpha wolf chuckled, tapping his staff weapon thoughtfully. "I mean, I bet that council of yours back in Warfang would listen to anything you have to say, being so important and all? Well, how's about you do a favour for me, and pass along a little message..."

There was an uncertain pause then, and the wolf pulled his lips back in clear amusement as he saw Spyro's futile attempts to rise up to his paws again. As if from some unspoken command, the other wolf warrior kicked Spyro again and he groaned in agony, unable to do anything but listen and curl in on himself pitifully.

"Now look I'm not asking a whole lot from you here!" The alpha sighed. "All I want you to do is tell them what you saw here, is that so bad? They need to understand that they can't just keep pushing other 'lesser species' around without suffering the consequences anymore! We're starting to fight back, man! We aren't putting up with it anymore!"

The alpha hesitated as Spyro shifted his weight uncomfortably, but continued eventually when his comrade placed a foot onto the purple dragon's back, holding him still. The alpha's cocky smile quickly returned and he laughed again.

"When that village across the valley burns tomorrow morning, and every dragon in it is dead..." He grinned, "Maybe then, they'll treat us as equals, like we should have been all those hundreds of years ago when your kind first betrayed us! We're not putting up with that kind of crap again- mark my words, buddy! I have to show them how serious I am, and it starts tomorrow, in Avion!"

When Spyro just stared back in utter confusion and horror at these words and remained silent in response, the wolf's expression hardened significantly, his tail flicking back and forth impatiently as a result.

"Ah! Right, right, I get it! You need some kind of...motivation, I guess?" He pontificated, pausing in thought for a moment once more. He paced on the spot for a few seconds but suddenly began to chuckle to himself with obvious amusement as he seemed to realise something. Spyro only growled in reply, which annoyingly seemed to make the wolf's smile simply grow wider.

"Well, just so you're aware, I have guys everywhere, even in Warfang." He sneered, "If I'm not happy with how you carry out this little task for me, all it would take is one little order from me, and _boom!"_ He snickered, "Your family back there there suddenly gets a whole lot smaller, buddy! There's at least your mate there, that black dragoness Cynder, I know that much! I might even get them to find that dragonfly brother of yours in the swamps when they're finished with her, too..."

"I just wonder how you'd live with yourself, never seeing them ever again, knowing that all you had to do was just deliver one, simple, message..." The alpha teased with clear finality then, leaning close enough for Spyro to smell the rotting meat on his breath. "How does that deal strike you, _hero?_ "

At this point though Spyro barely even noticed what the wolf was saying. His blood began to boil with a sudden desperation at the thought of his family being touched by this wolf's friends that he suddenly leapt to his feet with a strength that he didn't know he even had, ignoring the screaming pain in his limbs as best he could. He angrily bucked away the wolf warrior behind him with a sharp kick, forcing the unfortunate bystander to collapse to the ground in an unmoving heap. Before he could move another muscle to strike at the alpha though he was suddenly forced back down to the ground again in unbearable agony as the staff weapon in his hands once more began to extract Spyro's mana and life force, almost gleefully.

"You can't win here! It's game over for you!" The alpha laughed with clear delight, "Do as I say, or else you suffer the consequences! How many times do I have to show you!"

All of a sudden though, it just...stopped. The wolf gave a surprised grunt then, apparently uncertain of what had just happened. A purple light coming from the staff weapon quickly blinded them and they they both winced in shock as the dark crystal exploded into a million tiny pieces, peppering the area quite thoroughly with razor sharp shards that dug painfully into both wolf and dragon alike.

Groaning with great effort, Spyro scrambled to his feet a final time and saw the wolf alpha still standing there reeling, utterly dismayed at the loss of his weapon. With a feral snarl now Spyro began to run towards him with murderous intent, only to be stopped in surprise as a sharp blade was suddenly pressed against his throat from a nearby wolf warrior that he hadn't noticed joining the battle from somewhere nearby. In fact, he noticed with great despair that they were now totally surrounded by both wolf and gryphon soldiers alike.

Spyro tensed up immediately and winced as he felt warm blood beginning to trickle down his neck as a result of the knife marking his scales. He wanted nothing more than to struggle free, but he knew that if the wolf pressed just little harder and cut him deeply, the chances of finding more spirit gems before he would pass out was bleak. He roared out loudly in rage, unable to do anything but stare angrily at his surroundings, just willing them to get close enough for him to use the last remaining dregs of mana he still had left.

"Well hot damn! You broke my new toy!" The wolf alpha grinned then, quickly looking rather more confident with the situation now that he was obviously back in control. "I guess you had too many elements and you overloaded it or something! Wow!"

Spyro could only growl with frustration as he watched helplessly, the wolf alpha casually just picking up another staff weapon from one of his fallen soldiers nearby. Once again Spyro saw it levelled it at his chest and he took a sharp intake of breath, readying himself for whatever was to come next. He closed his eyes and just waited, tensing his entire body in suspense.

But, it never came. Instead, he heard a sudden cry of desperation from somewhere nearby and Spyro snapped his eyes open just in time to see a whirlwind of shadow quickly enveloping the entire clearing, leaving everyone including him coughing and spluttering in the darkness. The wolf behind him uttered a strangled choke and fell away, quite obviously suffocating. This was the work of a shadow dragon and Spyro recognised it at once, but he had little time to think about it, thick and fuming as this smog was. He could do nothing but blindly stagger and cough in the darkness, desperate to escape.

Just as he felt as if he were about to pass out, something grabbed one of his forepaws and dragged him away, out into clear air once more. Relieved at he was at that point just to be breathing again, Spyro didn't even recognise his saviour until the moonlight illuminated the familiar young shadow dragon's dark scales in a moment of clarity. He sagged to the ground in relief.

"Ferenth! Thank the ancestors..." He panted.

"Sir! Are you okay? What's going on?!" Ferenth exclaimed in horror, his bright crimson eyes widening significantly with worry as he saw the state of Spyro's bloodied body. "Come on, we need to get out of here! Get up!"

Spyro coughed a few times more but with the help of his companion managed to eventually struggle upright again with great discomfort. He hesitated on the spot then, but at the sight of the entire encampment nearby hurriedly grabbing their weapons and preparing to attack, Spyro realised he had little choice in the matter.

He gave one last glance towards the still prone gryphon soldier nearby though, realising quite sadly there was nothing they could do to help him either. Their eyes met for the briefest of moments and Spyro couldn't help but feel such a guilt churning in his stomach that it very nearly stopped him from moving another muscle.

"I'm so sorry, Griffith... I've failed you..." He whispered.

"Sir! Come on!" Ferenth insisted strongly then, snapping Spyro back to reality.

As if to prove a point, a stray bolt of electricity came flying just over their heads a second later, the wolf alpha emerging from the shadows menacingly. At that moment both of them leapt to the skies with great urgency and flew away into the night, dodging poorly aimed elemental attacks for the new few terrifying seconds until they escaped into the relative safety of the valley beyond...

* * *

 **AN: Hello again! Sorry for the delayed release of this chapter! With all the recent holidays and such it became quite difficult to find the time to sit down and write, but I hope you enjoyed it anyway, despite being shorter than usual :P**

 **What do we think of these developments? What does the wolf mean by the dragons "betraying" his people, hmm? Curious indeed 0_o**

 **I had at first hoped for this chapter to be longer actually but ended up running out of ideas to keep it going, truthfully. I guess the benefit of this being on this site though is that I can always come back and add more later, if I wanted to! I felt it was more important to get this uploaded now though, so you guys could see what happened after the events in chapter 6. Next chapter we shall go back to the present day and see how they are getting on in Warfang! Who knows what might happen!**

 **Thanks for the views as always though, dearest readers! Let me know what you think in review/PM! Any feedback is good feedback- especially since my normal beta reader is current unavailable to proof read D:**

 **See you next time!**


	9. Discoveries

**Present day**

"Hey, wake up..."

Cynder groggily opened her weary eyes at the sound of that familiar voice and blinked a few times in confusion. At first, all she could see was a big purple blur in front of her muzzle, outlined by what looked like the first faint rays of morning sunlight pouring in through the open bedroom window. Judging from how utterly shattered she felt at this point, it must have been very early indeed, and a great big yawn escaped her mouth all on its own as a result.

"There you are!" The voice then chuckled warmly, "Morning, beautiful..."

She didn't really understand what was happening at first, but answers eventually came a second later when she felt a tender kiss being planted on her forehead, her mate's comforting scent reaching her nostrils at the very same moment.

"Spyro..." She purred, a pleased but tired smile tugging at her lips as he promptly leaned forwards to affectionately nuzzle her cheek a second later. The touch of his warm scales sent a tingle of bliss all the way down her spine, and Cynder couldn't help but giggle out loud when he also unexpectedly licked the end of her snout; his violet eyes twinkling with obvious delight at her rather startled reaction.

"Gosh, you're such a twerp! Why don't I ever get to lie-in anymore?" Cynder laughed in jest, lightly slapping a paw to his cheek in a somewhat feeble attempt to make him stop.

"Gee, thanks!" Spyro chortled cheerily in reply, "I love you too, Cynder..."

It was hard to believe that nearly an entire week had come and gone since Spyro's return. Even now, it was still quite the refreshing thrill for her to be woken up on a morning in this manner, to be greeted with such tenderness and affection. Just gazing up into those beautiful lavender eyes at this point was almost enough to make her entirely forget about everything else, as she inexorably found herself getting lost in those entrancing, swirling depths. Whatever it was that Spyro saw in hers in return, her mate seemed to be just as equally enthralled, their muzzles steadily inching closer and closer without any kind of conscious thought to their movements.

Almost naturally, their lips then came together in a long and passionate kiss that quite rapidly became rather more heated than Cynder had been expecting first thing in the morning. Nevertheless, feeling rather emboldened all of a sudden, she wrapped her forelegs around his chest and pulled him closer. He hummed deeply from the back of his throat in obvious approval at this action, and although she couldn't see it, she could feel his tail entwining with hers as well. A knowing spark glistened in one of his eyes then, and he even unravelled his wings to cocoon her somewhat possessively, something which she utterly adored and purred all too happily in response to.

"See? This isn't so bad, is it?" Spyro mused warmly, allowing her to nuzzle under his chin by raising his head ever so slightly. He knew that this was her favourite spot, and so she took the opportunity to cuddle closer gladly. Cynder's whole world quickly shrunk to nothing else but this tender moment, the rhythmic beating of his heart becoming the only thing that she could hear, his scent the only thing she could smell, and his warm and comforting scales the only thing she could feel...

To put it simply, it was pure bliss. She simply had no other words to describe it. For the longest time they remained thusly, their bodies wrapped tightly against one-another in an intimate embrace that neither one of them wanted to end. She had never felt more safe and contented in her entire life than right now, and it therefore came as quite a shock when rather suddenly Spyro started to pull away a few minutes later, her entire body noticeably getting colder at once; nearly almost to the point of making her shiver uncomfortably.

He was still smiling fondly though, and Spyro quite clearly meant no harm by his actions. It actually looked as if he wanted to say something, but feeling rather indignant at this point for being denied her usual full allocation of morning cuddles, Cynder wasn't exactly willing to give him the chance to utter a single word. Her more usual morning grumpiness returned in full force before she could stop it, and an unpleasant scowl tugged at her lips.

"Hey, did I say you could stop?" She snapped pre-emptively to cut him off, "Get back here and finish what you started, or else!"

Spyro paused to consider this reaction for a few seconds in surprise, before eventually just laughing merrily and rather obligingly giving her one last brief kiss. Somehow he then managed to free himself from her clutches, despite her attempts to keep him held tightly in her paws. Seeing this, Cynder simply scowled and hugged herself in a futile attempt to replace the warmth he had taken from her so cruelly.

"Come on, it's time to get up! Rise and shine!" Spyro grinned, slipping down to the carpeted floor below with a dull thud. "I've got something to show you that I've been working on for a while now, and I'm pretty sure you'll like it, Cynder!"

When she didn't respond to his pleading other than with a harsh and disapproving stare however, Spyro decided to change tactics by tilting his head and widening his eyes innocently. Normally she would have given him anything he wanted from looking so adorable, but right at this very second, she wasn't having any of it.

"Please, Cynder?" He tried to continue, "I've been working on this all night, and I really want you to see it. I promise, it won't take long..."

"But its so early!" She mumbled tiredly, rolling to her belly and pouting with a pitiful expression on her face, "You know I didn't get much sleep last night, and I'm really not in the mood to be traipsing around anywhere right now."

As if to reinforce this point, a great big yawn suddenly decided to escape her mouth at that very second, making her eyes water slightly with its unexpected intensity. Seeing this, the purple dragon's smile quickly softened in sympathy and he trotted a little closer to envelop her in a light hug with his wing. It was a most welcome gesture, one that was a poor substitute for the intimacy she truly desired, but it made her eventually sigh in reluctant acceptance nonetheless.

"Hey, it'll only take a minute..." Spyro explained softly, squeezing her with his wing, "And you can sleep as much as you want when we're done, I promise!"

Cynder considered this offer for a few moments before simply shrugging, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation. "Okay, fine!" She scowled, "But this had better be worth it, or I'm seriously going to poison your food all week for waking me up this early for nothing..."

Her mate laughed at this rather not-so-serious threat, and promptly started tugging her forwards with his wing, leaving her with little choice other than to follow his lead towards the set of curtains separating the bedroom from the rest of the house.

"Come on, it's this way!" He smiled.

As she padded beside him at a leisurely pace from this point forwards, Cynder noted, with no small amount of amusement, that Spyro was doing a very poor job of hiding his excitement about whatever it was he had planned. With every step they took his enthusiasm seemed to double, and she found herself smiling tiredly as his wagging tail repeatedly crashed against her flanks over and over. He didn't even seem to realise he was doing it, focused as he was on leading her towards whatever their destination was.

"Spyro, calm down! I'm not going anywhere, okay?" Cynder snorted, playfully hitting his shoulder with a paw when it became a little too much to bear. He simply turned to look at her with a knowing grin in reply and unexpectedly came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the dining room, leaving her pausing in confusion mid-step.

"We're here!" He stated, simply.

"Oh..." She faltered, "Well, what is it you wanted to show me?"

Although the weak sunlight pouring in through the windows at this point left the occasional patch of shadow being cast around the dining room, everything looked neat and tidy, in its proper place, with no clutter strewn about the place anywhere. This she thought was rather odd, because Spyro was usually quite the messy type whenever he had done anything like this in the past. Apparently this time however, he had taken extreme care to hide away any evidence that might explain what he had been doing; she was well and truly stumped.

 _Oh ancestors, I hate surprises..._

Resigning herself to the simple fact that she would have to wait for an explanation, Cynder settled on her haunches and looked to him with a bemused sort of smile on her face. For once she hadn't the slightest inkling as to what he had planned: he had rather annoyingly pulled this one off quite well. Spyro seemed to realise this too, and his smile twisted deviously into a sly smirk all of a sudden.

"Are you going to tell me or what?" She scowled, "Otherwise, I'm going back to bed."

Chuckling to himself, the purple dragon simply extended a paw to gesture towards the nearby kitchen worktop at this point. Lowering her gaze intently to follow this prompt, Cynder immediately spotted some kind of cloth wrapped bundle laid out on the surface that she hadn't noticed before.

When she leaned forward a little closer out of curiosity, she discovered, quite strangely, that there were no bulges or any defining features to show what was underneath the cloth, which she considered to be even more curious. Whatever it was, it had to be something pretty small. Nothing came to mind though to explain what sort of small object Spyro would have thought so important to her though, so she just ended up looking back to him patiently for further clarification.

"I've never done anything like this before," Spyro smiled rather bashfully then, lowering his head a little, "some of the pieces were missing and I had to improvise a little, so it's not perfect. I really am sorry in advance if it's not quite what you were hoping for, but I tried my best..."

All the more intrigued now, Cynder tapped her claws a few times on the carpet and flicked her tail back and forth, eyes widening with anticipation. She wanted so badly to just rip away the cloth before Spyro dragged this on for too long, but from the way in which he was currently holding himself so eagerly she thought better of it, sensing it was the right thing to do to let him handle this as he saw fit.

"Well then," Spyro said quietly at last, letting out a slow exhale, "Here goes..."

He reached out with a paw and removed the cloth with a flick of a claw at last, unwrapping the bundle for her to see. She allowed her gaze to fall back to the object then, and what she saw there literally took her breath away.

"Oh ancestors!" Cynder gasped loudly, holding a paw to her mouth in disbelief.

Laid out on the counter was the jade and opal necklace that had been destroyed during the break in just under a week ago, only now it was quite inexplicably intact and whole again once more. Whatever it was that Spyro had done to fix it, his methods had left only the occasional blemish on the surface, with scarcely a mark to show that it had been damaged at all in the first place. Just seeing it restored like this filled Cynder's heart with such emotion that it made her stagger on the spot, her eyes rapidly filling with tears of joy.

"So, what do you think?" Spyro mused softly, leaning a little closer to nuzzle her cheek. He took a moment to look at the necklace and then back to her, smiling somewhat hesitantly. "I mean, I know it's not as good as it was before, but do you like it...?"

"Gosh... I...I don't know what to say!" Cynder eventually replied with a choked sob, holding a paw to her mouth again, "Oh ancestors Spyro, this means so much to me! Thank you so much! It's... it's perfect!"

Her mate just smiled sympathetically and grasped one of her paws, squeezing ever so softly in support as he let her have this moment. Without needing further permission, Cynder quickly snatched forwards and grabbed the necklace, bringing it closely against her chest with another barely restrained sob, the glistening gemstones matching the shade of her dark scales perfectly in the rising sunlight. This was the most precious thing that he could have possibly done for her, and he knew it.

"Spyro...I..." She stammered, unable to find the words to convey her gratitude properly, "Ancestors above, Spyro...I..."

Her lower lip quivered dangerously all of a sudden, and she found it increasingly difficult to hold back the storm of powerful emotion swirling in her heart. At the slightest provocation it threatened to come breaking out, but honestly she didn't really care anymore. Spyro was there for her in no time at all, and he soon wrapped a wing around her body and gently pulled her to his chest.

"It's okay Cynder," He cooed softly, "You can let it all out, I understand..."

Needing little more prompting than this, she abandoned all hope of hiding her emotions any longer and was left spluttering pathetically against his body for the longest time, feeling quite unable to do anything else but cry away all the pain and distress that she had been silently suffering with since that terrible night, bottled up inside of her as it had been up until this moment.

"I love you so much, Spyro, I...I just don't know what I'd do without you..." She sighed at last several minutes later, sniffing loudly. "I'm glad you're back..."

He simply kissed her forehead again and just purred happily. "Hey, I'm glad to _be_ back..."

All it took to ruin this tender moment however was the dreaded sound of someone knocking at the front door scarcely a few seconds later. They both jumped in surprise and turned around to face the window in order to see who it was, but there was really only one reason that anyone could possibly be calling this early, and they both knew it.

"Cynder, I...-" Spyro tried to say, looking rather evasive all of a sudden as he seemed to recognise the armour-clad council messenger waiting outside, their golden set of armour reflecting beads of bright light all over the hallway. He regarded her with a look of great concern as if he wanted to protest, but she cut him off before he could say another word.

"-Look Spyro, we're not arguing about this again!" Cynder snapped sternly, pausing to rub her eyes with a paw, sniffing loudly. "You know how important these council meeting are, and you aren't going to miss one just because you feel sorry for me. Honestly don't worry, I'll be fine!"

Following her prompting somewhat reluctantly as she nudged his rump with her snout, Spyro made a rather exaggerated groan of effort as he got to his feet, clearly amused by the way in which she sighed exasperatedly at this poor attempt at humour. He never did play the victim very well, and it did feel rather taxing to say the least.

"Ancestors above, you'd think you hadn't slept all night or something," Cynder commented dryly, barely holding back a yawn of her own. When hesitated to move however, she frowned in all seriousness and pouted slightly.

"Look, there's an awful lot of stuff you need to find out from the council today," She sighed, "And you really need to get going if you don't want to be late, so get on with it!"

"Hey, what's the hurry? They can wait..." He pondered playfully, chuckling to himself as he leaned in to nuzzle against her cheek. Spyro had that look of an innocent child about him right now, and she rather abruptly pulled away from him in mild aggravation, shooting him a sharp glare in reply that asked, 's _eriously?'_

"Oh..." He then said, his bearing immediately taking on an air of silent contemplation as he considered what she had said for a brief moment. "Yeah, you're right. I guess the council still does sort of owe us an explanation or two, huh...?"

"All I ask Spyro, is that you try." She smiled, pleased to see that he understood.

Before the purple dragon could walk more than a few short steps in the direction of the entry hall though however, she suddenly noticed something rather alarming about his appearance in the sunlight for the first time, her mouth falling wide open in shock and dismay at what she saw.

"Hey, wait!" Cynder quickly snapped, making him freeze on the spot and turn to face her with a quizzical expression on his face. "You're aren't seriously thinking of going to the council chambers looking like _that_ , are you?"

"I um... I think so?" The purple dragon replied hesitantly, looking down at himself in confusion and gulping a little nervously in the process, apparently seeing nothing amiss. "Why not? What's wrong?"

"Just look at you! You're a mess!" Cynder face-pawed, groaning, "You forgot _again_ , didn't you?"

Suppressing the urge to sigh once more, she tilted her head to look at him critically and padded around him in a circle, her scowl of disapproval only widening further at what she saw. Most of his scales were caked in a thin layer of dirt and grime from whatever work he had been doing the previous day, and it looked absolutely horrendous. Parts of him even looked more brown than purple in certain areas, and his normally vivid golden horns and frills were also dull and lustreless, clearly not having being polished either.

She had told him at dinner last night to tidy himself up for this exact reason, but it was clear to her now that he hadn't done so. _Ugh, males!_

"Come here, _now_!" Cynder demanded, "You're getting a tounge-bath, mister!"

Before she could get too close though he suddenly ran forwards, letting out a quick yelp of alarm in the process. She had expected this however, and with a single powerful leap, promptly landed her entire weight on the small of his back which trapped him to the ground underneath her. His legs gave way at once and he collapsed to the carpet in a heap, wheezing as all of the air was knocked out of his lungs.

"That's better, now stay still!" She grinned evilly, quickly starting her work without showing any mercy at all, ignoring his indignant protests. As she knew all of his foibles intimately by now, Cynder also chose to quite deliberately linger in certain spots where he was ticklish the most, causing the big purple buffoon to start laughing hysterically under her touch. He wriggled and squirmed, but to no avail.

"Stop, Cynder! Please, stop!" He chortled quite pathetically with tears rolling down his cheeks, "I'm sorry, okay? I forgot! It was an accident!...It's...Ahah...AHAHA!"

 _What an idiot!_ She smiled, _But at least he's my idiot..._

* * *

Spyro settled to his haunches and groaned, holding a paw to his forehead in exasperation. The flickering torchlight illuminating his surroundings, the underground chambers of the council buildings, only seemed to remind him of the fact that he hadn't seen daylight for several hours at least; and it was making him feel distinctly uneasy. It was around midday at this point, and he had achieved nothing worthy of note so far aside from observing some pointless debates about trivial matters perhaps best suited to someone else. To put things simply, he was getting sick of it.

 _Ancestors, when will it end?_ He frowned.

Letting out a long sigh, Spyro turned his head to spare a quick glance at Ferenth who was seated close by, just near the entrance to the main meeting chamber. They were both currently enjoying a brief recess from the current council session, and the young shadow dragon appeared to be taking the opportunity to take a quick nap; his head resting at an uncomfortable angle against a nearby stone pillar. His gentle snoring filled the air, and Spyro couldn't help but chuckle in amazement at this sight.

After the council had summoned both of them here to recount their experiences regarding the evacuation of Avion, Spyro simply couldn't imagine feeling relaxed enough to sleep so easily. Even now he still suffered occasional flashbacks to what had happened on that terrible night, about the horrible things that he had been forced to do in order to protect the villagers from destruction. The council had called his actions heroic, but it certainly didn't feel that way to him. Although most of the villagers were now safely in Warfang as refugees, a great many dragons and gryphons had still died that day, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible in a way for failing to prevent things from escalating as they did.

 _The council chose not to tell you about all of this in the first place, you didn't have a choice!_ Spyro internally reminded himself, _All those things you did were to save lives, don't forget that!_

The sudden sound of paw steps approaching however quickly caught his attention and he looked up, suddenly snapping away from such thoughts. He was quite surprised to see that it was the four elemental guardians walking towards him from further down the corridor. When they were close enough to see more clearly a moment or two later, Spyro realised that they were all wearing serious expressions on their faces, and immediately he got to his feet, narrowing his eyes in concern. Normally all four of them didn't attend council meetings unless it was something relevant to the safety and wellbeing of the entire dragon race, and this thought alarmed him greatly.

 _Oh no, what now?_ Spyro despaired.

Leading their small party, the elderly fire guardian Infernos met Spyro's eye and tried to smile reassuringly, but he could easily tell from all of his years experience being a diplomat for the council that something was concerning him deeply. He didn't know Infernos very well at all on a personal level, but he knew at least that the former Warfang general hadn't been subjected to the years of training normally required for such an exalted position. As a result Terrador and the others were far better at hiding their emotions under blank masks of stoicism than he, but Spyro had seen enough to know better already. Something was clearly up, and if it was something bad enough to worry the guardians he wanted to know what it was.

"What's going on?" Spyro decided to ask, singling out Cyril as the subject of his attention, as the ice guardian was closest. The light blue scaled drake hesitated and looked to his companions, who shared a brief but worried glare with him for a few moments before simply filing past and walking into the chambers beyond with great haste. This all but confirmed Spyro's suspicions, and he narrowed his eyes curiously.

"I'll handle this one then, shall I?" Cyril mused icily, letting out a short and indignant huff as he turned to face the two of them. Spyro just frowned at this and tapped his tail a few times on the ground, waiting impatiently for an explanation. His tolerance for secrecy was at an all time low at this point, and he simply wasn't wiling to accept anything less than the full truth especially after being forced to listen to the council droning on all morning. The sound of voices had seemingly woken Ferenth as well, who was now looking up at the elder dragon also.

Staring between the two younger drakes somewhat guardedly then, the ice guardian's brow furrowed slightly, his voice taking on a rather urgent tone.

"Spyro, Private Ferenth," he muttered in greeting, "I'm afraid that I must ask both of you to sit out this next meeting and find something else to occupy yourselves for a few hours. There is somewhat _delicate_ situation developing at the moment and unfortunately your presence would likely make things more difficult for all of us. So therefore, with all due haste...-"

All of a sudden, before Cyril could finish, there was the sound of a great commotion just beyond the double set of doors leading into the main chamber, making all of them jump in surprise. At once Spyro snapped his head up curiously, quickly spotting the source in an instant. Nearby, he could hear Ferenth gasping in surprise.

"Oh my..." Cyril stated, simply.

Just entering from the opposite side of the main chamber at this moment there was a gryphon who was being escorted inside by several armoured dragon soldiers, who even now were wincing with the sudden shouts of verbal abuse being directed at them from the other council members sat high above on the various rings of concentric seating. Spyro quickly recognised this gryphon as the ambassador to Warfang from his overly-proud bearing and the opulent ceremonial robes hanging from his body, but he didn't seem too concerned at all by this rather unwelcome reception. Quite strangely, he even seemed to be enjoying it, with a smug sort of smile on his beak.

Spyro quickly shook off his surprise when he realised in alarm that there was only one reason that such a gryphon would be here, and all at once he tore his eyes away in a fury to face Cyril accusingly, his expression narrowing with clear distaste.

"The gryphons are here to talk to the council in person after all this time spent negotiating, and you still don't want us present? You want us to just walk away when we can help you explain to them what really happened that day? Why, Cyril? I don't understand!"

Cyril let out a long sigh and shook his head. He had an air about his bearing that made Spyro feel as if he were about to be told off for something like a disobedient child who knew no better, a sensation that he wasn't unfortunately all that unused to when it came to dealing with the ice guardian.

"You must understand Spyro, that this is a very fragile situation that could deteriorate at a moment's notice!" He replied coldly, "You need to let us deal with this as we see best, because, despite your exemplary work so far, you still have a lot to learn in these matters when it comes to digression! Trust me when I say that right now, your presence _would_ make these already tense negotiations all the more difficult. So please, if you would kindly vacate the area with all haste, we can get on with the business at paw..."

Spyro gripped the carpeted floor tighter in his claws and felt all of the frustration of the last few months quickly coming to the surface, making a fierce growl of annoyance rumble in his throat, so loud that it actually seemed to surprise both Ferenth and Cyril with its force. He remembered Cynder's face on the night of the break-in all too clearly, and he decided right at that second that it was about time he forced the issue.

"No!" The purple dragon snapped sharply, holding his head higher, "I've had enough of these dammed secrets, Cyril! I've been doing everything you've asked of me for years now, and have I ever once given you reason to distrust me? I just don't understand! I want to help stop this from getting worse, and now you're telling me that I have sit back and do nothing? We were witnesses to what happened there in Avion, we can tell them about the wolf tribe, and what they did to their soldiers and their general! Why would that that be a bad thing?"

The question hung in the air for an awkward moment, but Spyro found himself still not finished, more words quickly coming to mind in his sudden frustration. "Is it because you don't trust me to do the right thing, is that it? That you think I'm too young to handle it?"

"No, Spyro, it's not that..." The ice guardian quickly sighed, "I have the greatest confidence in you my boy, but if you would just listen to me for but a moment, I...-"

"-No, no more excuses!" Spyro continued, slamming a paw on the ground to interrupt him, "If you don't trust me Cyril, then I want nothing more to do with any of this! You knew that when you sent me on this assignment that I would probably have to use my powers to help save the villagers of Avion, and you were right! You turned me into a weapon Cyril, and I told you before, I hate that! I did what I had to do, but if you had told me what I was getting into in the first place, there might not have been any fighting at all! I could have talked to the gryphons, maybe forced them to see reason..."

He heard Ferenth draw a sharp intake of breath, but Cyril was doing a remarkably impressive job of pretending to be an statue as he waited for Spyro to finish.

"Look, the point is I just cant do this anymore without knowing _why_!" The purple dragon concluded, dropping his head slightly before taking on a more serious and determined expression. "This is the last straw! Either you tell me what the heck is _really_ going on right now, or I'm going in there to sort out this mess you started once and for all, and you can't stop me!"

The nearby shadow dragon's eyes widened with utter dismay at the display of insolence in which Spyro had just spoken to his elder, but Cyril simply snorted loudly and didn't bother to hide his displeasure, an icy spray left twinkling in the air from his nostrils as he exhaled forcefully. As if to assert his superiority, he stood taller and flicked his tail back and forth with clear aggravation, matching Spyro's stature quite easily despite his age.

"If you want what is best for our species, _young dragon_ , then you will do exactly as you are told, and nothing else!" The elder dragon snapped back, using that term rather degradingly, "There are events at work here that threaten our very existence, and you would do well to heed my warning when I tell you that unless we treat this matter with the utmost delicately, it will not just be a single remote village under threat, it will be our entire species! You believe that think you know better than your elders, do you? Well it is clear to me now that you are not as mature as I first thought!"

Seeing that this retort had shocked the purple dragon into a momentary stunned silence, Cyril continued, albeit a little quieter. "Now I understand that this is perhaps all rather frustrating and confusing to you at the moment, but be rest assured this matter is well under control, and that we will call upon you when you are needed, _if_ you are needed! We have every confidence in your abilities, Spyro, but right now isn't the time to be brandying around such information carelessly! We do this not for entertainment or to trouble your conscience, but for necessity!

"So once again, I implore you," He frowned with clear finality, coughing to clear his throat. "Please, find some other way to spend the rest of your day, preferably _away_ from the council chambers! After all, we don't need any mistakes here, especially when the stakes are so high, do we, gentlemen?"

Ferenth looked between the both of them and eventually staggered to his feet, seemingly making up his mind at once. His posture was awkward, but it soon became clear that he intended to leave.

"Come on sir, let's go," The young shadow dragon said to Spyro, somewhat reluctantly, "I...I don't wanna cause any trouble..."

Seemingly pleased by this response, Cyril nodded with his head and extended a wing in the direction of the exit with clear dismissal, something which made Spyro feel even more frustrated than before. He didn't want to just give up so easily, not when he had been so close to getting answers. But, even he was able to realise a lose cause when he saw one. A part of him rationalised that perhaps Cyril was right and there was a good reason for secrecy, but he didn't want to listen to it, furious as he was at this point.

"We'll talk more about this later. We're not finished here..." Spyro scowled bitterly, taking one last glance towards the elder ice dragon before following Ferenth's lead towards the exit. Behind them only seconds later the double set of doors leading into the main chamber closed with a muted thud as Cyril disappeared inside then, audibly locking into place with the familiar sound of an elemental seal being engaged. It was obvious at this point that they weren't getting back inside any time soon.

Letting out a long sigh, Spyro shook his head and glanced to Ferenth, who was wearing a concerned frown on his expression as they walked. Nothing really needed to be said, and the two of them remained silent all the way until they reached the surface again some minutes later. The bright midday sunlight made Spyro wince as it shone directly into his eyes, but a hesitant smile found its way working onto his expression regardless. At least now he knew a little more about what was going on, even though it wasn't much to go on.

"What are you going to do now then, sir?" Ferenth suddenly asked, tilting his head curiously, "I don't think they're gonna let you back in there any time soon, that's for sure..."

The purple dragon simply shrugged his shoulders and looked around absent mindedly at the hustle and bustle of everyday life around them, large crowds of dragons and moles wandering around two and fro, without a single care in the world. It all felt so normal and surreal seeing such a sight, that it was hard for him to rationalise in his mind what had just happened. A part of him wanted to forget it, but regardless, Cyril's words still repeated in his head over and over again;

 _'It will not just be a single remote village under threat, it will be our entire species!'_

The thought that whatever was happening out there could have such dire consequences for dragon-kind made him feel slightly sick with worry, and more than just a little foolish for snapping at the ice guardian like he had. His anger had gotten the best of him, something that rarely ever happened, and it was only now that he seemed to realise that perhaps they had a good reason for all of this secrecy in the first place if things really were this bad. It didn't mean that he had to like it of course, but this explanation _did_ make sense.

"I've been a fool Ferenth." Spyro sighed at last, "What Cyril said... I... I just don't know what to make of it. What does he mean our entire _species_ is under threat? Does he mean the wolf tribe is larger than we thought, more powerful somehow, maybe? I really doubt it, but even it it were, how could they threaten us in such a way? I don't get it... "

The young dragon soldier hummed in thought for a moment, tapping his claws on the cobblestone underpaw. "You're right, sir- something doesn't add up. If you think about it, even if the whole gryphon kingdom were to side with the wolf tribe, I still doubt that we'd have much of a problem. The losses on both sides would be terrible if a war did break out, but like we have done in the past, we'd eventually come out on top, and they would know that...

"No, if I were to guess, sir," Ferenth frowned, "I'd say that the wolf tribe has more allies that we don't know about, or maybe some kind of secret weapon that the council doesn't want becoming public knowledge. Nothing we've seen so far from them suggests that they'd be anything more than just a minor nuisance if push came to shove right now. Don't you think?"

Spyro just smiled in the shadow dragon's direction, nodding in agreement to all of these points. Ferenth's insight and unusually clear perception was something that he envied tremendously, as he was seldom wrong about these sort of things. He knew that much from experience at least.

"Either way," Spyro replied, "It's clear that we need to know more anyway. Whatever this wolf tribe is planning, it can't be anything good. I don't know what their leader meant when he said back at the encampment about us dragons betraying his people a hundred years ago. Maybe if we knew that, it could be a good start to understanding his motivations..."

The two of them fell into a brooding silence for quite some time, pondering these troubling developments thoughtfully. Eventually, it was Spyro that spoke, an sudden idea forming in his mind.

"You know, I bet Cynder would be able to figure it out," He stated with some conviction, "I'm going to find her and see what she thinks about all of this, Ferenth."

The young shadow dragon simply nodded, "I guess it's worth a try, sir! I'll go back to the barracks and ask a few discreet questions of my own, someone is bound to know something. If you need me I'll probably be there all day. Anyway, it's been good seeing you again! Take care, sir!"

Spyro dipped his head and said goodbye as well, then promptly leapt into the skies with his wings spread wide in the direction of the temple, where he knew Cynder was likely to be at this sort of time. It wasn't really that far away, but he enjoyed the feel of freedom that flying brought after being cooped up inside for so long. He let out a long sigh of relief as the wind whipped against his scales comfortingly, and it was only a few short minutes later that he landed in the courtyard just outside the main entrance, bustling with frantic activity as it always was.

Weaving his way through the usual daily commotion quite skilfully, Spyro found his way inside the main atrium where things were thankfully a lot quieter. It was only then though that he realised he hadn't the slightest clue where to go from this point forwards.

"Oh ancestors..." He groaned, face-pawing in exasperation.

When Cynder had told him that she had taken a voluntary role in the temple whilst she overcame whatever illness had befallen her, he hadn't ever considered asking where or what such a role actually was. After all, he would normally be occupied in the council chambers at this sort of time, he just hadn't thought of something like this occurring at all.

Spyro settled on his haunches and looked around curiously. Off to the western side of the atrium he knew there were numerous training areas and classrooms for younger dragons to learn and practice their elements, but he didn't think this was a likely place to find his mate at all. Neither, it seemed, did it seem likely that she would have gone further underground to where the hatchery and guardian quarters were, or the living quarters on the upper levels. The rest of the temple was just the various shelters for the population as well as a few other places like the public baths. Spyro was left therefore well and truly stumped, and with all the dragons walking around the place looking so busy and chatting with each other, it didn't feel like a good idea to just go around rudely interrupting what was clearly important work with his questions.

 _If I were Cynder, where would I be?_ He mused, tapping his claws on the marble flooring absent mindedly.

"You look lost, little one. Is there anything I can do to help?" A familiar sounding female voice suddenly asked from behind him then, her voice tinted with a clear hint of amusement.

The unexpected interruption of his thoughts made made Spyro jump in surprise, but the affectionate use of the term _'little one'_ was something only one dragoness had ever said to him before, and he quickly recognised who it was after spinning his head around to look. Her bright sapphire eyes twinkled with mischief as she stared at him, and she giggled out loud at his rather startled reaction.

"Ariya!" He gasped, taking a moment to gather himself, "Ancestors above, you scared me! I... I didn't know you were back in Warfang..."

"Indeed, it's been quite a while hasn't it? Ten years I think, by my reckoning?" The bright blue scaled dragoness grinned, waving her tail back and forth. "My, just look at you now, all grown up! I do say, you look rather dashing, dear..."

Spyro felt his cheeks flush and he avoided her gaze for a moment, snorting in embarrassment. She simply chuckled and reached forwards to brush her muzzle against his in a friendly greeting. It was a gesture that he wasn't expecting at all, and he just froze to the spot in uncertainty. The way in which they had last parted wasn't exactly on such friendly terms, and he wasn't quite sure how to react.

"It's good to see you again, Spyro." Ariya said more softly now, "Oh ancestors, I missed you a great deal, little one. I only wish that I had dared to return sooner, but I...-"

Apparently noticing the sympathetic but rather hesitant smile tugging at his lips now, Ariya let out a long sigh. He had long since wondered if it was something he had said or done to cause her to leave in the first place, so he tried to look apologetic.

"I... I suppose that I had my own personal reasons, shall we say, for not returning," She explained somewhat reluctantly, "But do not worry about me. What happened back then wasn't your fault. I just suppose that, well... I needed some time away, some time to think..."

"Now! Do tell me..." Ariya stated, leaning a little closer and skilfully changing the subject in the process, "Is it Cynder that you are looking for by any chance? You do look to be in a great hurry if you don't mind my saying. Is everything all right, dear?"

Spyro simply nodded, his expression still filled with concern and worry for the older dragoness. He resolved to ask her the truth about what happened those years ago sometime later, because this explanation still didn't satisfy his curiosity. Nevertheless, he was in somewhat of a hurry and strove to accept what she had said for now at least.

"Yeah, I need to talk to her about something important," He replied, "Something is going on and I really need her help. Do you know where she is, have you seen her?"

Ariya just smiled. "Indeed! Would you like me to take you to her?"

Spyro blinked, surprised. "Oh, you have? Sure, I'd appreciate that a lot! Right now I don't even know where to start, this place is huge!"

Ariya motioned with her head for him to follow with a smile then, but she suddenly faltered and performed a double take a second later, her gaze narrowing as she looked at him more closely. She must have seen something he didn't, because he hadn't a clue why she was regarding him with a look that was something close to distaste.

"Although dear, I think you would do well to take a quick bath before we continue!" She frowned, "Goodness, how did Cynder let you out of the house looking like _that_? No, this won't do, not where I'll be taking you! Come on, let's get you cleaned up first!"

Before Spyro could utter a single word in reply she suddenly motioned with a paw for him to follow, which he did almost without thinking. An amused smirk was on his face now, and he even laughed out loud with the absurdity of it.

"What's so bad about a little dirt?" He mused playfully, "Gosh, you're just like Cynder! A bit of dirt never hurt anyone..."

Ariya regarded him with a wry smile. "Well, it's nice to see that you haven't changed too much!" She giggled, "But, since we will be going to the hatchery, and eggs are very sensitive to things like fungus and bacteria- the kind of things that _'just dirt'_ can bring in, I'm afraid I must insist..."

Spyro walked for a few steps more before hesitating, suddenly realising what she had just said. He stopped on the spot and shot her a bewildered stare, something which she just smirked in response to.

"Hatchery? Why would we be going there?" He asked, "I don't understand, Cynder surely wouldn't want to...-"

"-Ah, but that's where she is, nonetheless!" The sapphire scaled dragoness retorted, cutting him off by rolling her eyes in amusement. "Hasn't she told you about her work here?"

"No, she hasn't!" He said, feeling utterly baffled. After asking Cynder some days previously about her work in the temple, and only receiving a rather vague and inconclusive response, he found this new information most curious indeed. Of all things he had expected, hearing that his mate was working in a hatchery was not one of them.

Ariya simply chuckled at his now thoroughly baffled expression and started walking again, leaving him to trot quickly to catch up a few seconds later. She led him into the temple bathing rooms after a few minutes of walking, simply stating that she would not answer any more of his questions no matter how hard he pried until his scales were pristine and shined in the light. He tried to plead his case, but was eventually forced to admit defeat and begrudgingly go inside when she point blank refused to say anything further.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, then..." He sighed at last, disappearing around the corner.

Spyro silently wandered into the drake only pool as the corridor branched, and rather hurriedly slipped into the water once inside, keen to be in and out as fast as possible to get some answers. To his surprise however, the whole place was totally empty, despite the fact that it had been quite obviously designed to accommodate hundreds of dragons. The chamber itself was massive, at least two hundred strides long and walled in golden sandstone, with several huge stained glass windows on the far side, filling the whole place with the glorious rays of midday sunlight.

It really was quite a beautiful place, but it was so quiet and still that Spyro felt distinctly bad for some reason about breaking the crystal clear surface of the water. The ripples radiating across the surface bounded back and forth so clearly that he found himself staring with vague amusement for a while at the patterns his movements caused. He even experimented a little by moving his paws around and smiling to himself, not entirely unlike a child, at the resulting splashes and ripples he made. After all, swimming was somewhat of a new hobby of his after Cynder had goaded him into trying it some years ago. Having avoided places like this for most of his life until this point as a result, the experience of having a whole pool to himself like this was quite a novel one, one that he was keen to enjoy while it lasted.

"Heh. That's cool..." Spyro grinned, splashing again. He watched the ripples radiating all over the pool before the surface fell calm again a few moments later. An idea came to mind then, and he just started drawing on his ice powers when suddenly there was a loud female voice, echoing loudly throughout the chamber.

"Have you forgotten how to bathe, little one? I shan't be waiting here all day!"

"Oh, right..." Spyro mumbled rather mutedly, letting out a long sigh. He tried to clean himself then, although he had a feeling that no matter how hard he tried, it probably wouldn't be good enough to meet Aryia's standards. The caked in grime and dirt was really difficult to remove, especially in the gaps between his scales. It took a concentrated effort just to remove each segment with a claw, one by one, though thankfully he quickly came up with a rather inventive solution to this problem by using his fire element. By summoning flames around his body, he managed to heat the water to such a degree that his task was thankfully made several magnitudes easier.

A few minutes later, when he was satisfied that he was as clean as he could possibly be, he hurriedly dried himself and walked back out into the temple atrium, where Ariya was sat on her haunches waiting patiently. Almost at once she looked at him with a slight frown, judging his appearance critically. Thankfully, though, it seemed to be enough.

"It will do for now, I suppose," She chuckled in amusement, "Come on then dear, let's go..."

He followed her lead eagerly, curious to see what awaited him in the hatchery. He had never been in there before, for the simple reason he hadn't needed to be. Busy as he had been with dealing with the council and other matters over the years, he had somehow neglected to explore this far inside, which he soon realised was a mistake. As they walked through the various corridors and chambers, his mouth was almost permanently open in amazement and wonder at everything he saw. In places, this entire underground segment distinctly had the feel of the old swamp temple, with its smoothly curved earth walls and slightly musty smell. It really was quite nostalgic in a strange way.

By the time they reached what Ariya told him was the underground main atrium, a warm feeling of _belonging_ had begun to fill his chest, a giddy sort of smile on his face as he took in these new surroundings with glee. They passed by a huge and towering dragon statue with glowing yellow eyes, just like the one he remembered seeing all of those years ago in the training room in the swamp temple, and he couldn't help but chuckle out loud. This whole place felt so surreal that he didn't know quite what to make of it. Seemingly finding this amusing, Ariya raised an eyebrow curiously, as if to an ask for an explanation.

"Sorry," He smiled, "It's just that this whole place feels so familiar to me, even though I've never been here before. I don't know what I was expecting, but this takes me right back. It's almost as if...-"

"-As if you've gone back in time, perhaps?" The sapphire scaled dragoness mused, chuckling to herself. "Cynder said the same thing, actually! It's funny how alike you two really are. I'd imagine this feels quite strange for you in a way, doesn't it?"

Spyro's smile widened and he laughed as well, though he wasn't really sure how to respond to that, so they fell silent once again and just padded along amicably side by side. She led him deeper and deeper underground, through several locked doors that only opened to a blast of her ice element, and then into another smaller chamber which had doors leading in all different directions. He came to the rather uneasy realisation at this point that if he had been asked to find this place by himself, he would have been totally lost.

At last though they came to a door at the end of another long corridor, through which the muffled sound of laughter could be heard. Ariya peeked through the little window at the top of the door to see what was going on inside, and her smile warmed considerably all of a sudden.

"You should look I think, before you go inside," She said softly, stepping backwards to allow him to approach the door. "You might be surprised at what you see..."

The purple dragon raised an eyebrow sceptically, wondering if this was a trick of some kind. Her smile seemed genuine though so he eventually relented and decided to follow her suggestion. He struggled to stand on his hind legs to reach the window, but once he saw what was in there he realised that Ariya was right; he was surprised!

Spyro's mouth fell wide open in disbelief, and nearby, he heard Ariya giggling to herself. He looked to her, and then back to the room, not really believing what he was seeing at first. The longer he stared though, the more real it became.

"I... I had no idea this is what she's been doing all this time," He whispered in disbelief.

Beyond the glass was a small room, padded with what looked like some kind of soft material on all sides, the kind of thing that clearly was designed to prevent injury. In the far corner of this room he saw Cynder, and she was at the moment leaning forwards and talking in a soft voice to a dozen or so young hatchlings of various elements clustered around obediently in front of her in a semi-circle. They were hanging on her every word it seemed, and although Spyro couldn't quite make out the words, they were clearly meant to reassure and comfort about something. He just couldn't help but push his muzzle tightly against the glass to see closer at once, something which made Ariya giggle.

Ignoring the older dragoness' snickering, Spyro continued to watch in utter fascination as Cynder quite unwittingly began to show him a side of her personality that he had never seen before. After her speech, the tiny dragons were left to scamper around now playing various games with each other under Cynder's watchful eye. Whenever something happened to upset the peace over the next few minutes, like one of the hatchlings tripping over or arguing over a toy, the black scaled dragoness was right there to sort it out such such tenderness and care that it made Spyro's heart swell with a strange sort of pride to see it. He was truly speechless, his mouth open in utter amazement.

"She's good, isn't she?" Ariya mused, stepping closer to his side, "I'd say you picked your mate well little one, this all seems to come quite naturally to her. The hatchlings utterly adore it when it's Cynder's turn to watch over them and I can see why, can't you?"

"Yeah..." he agreed without thinking, still in somewhat of a daze. He just couldn't tear his eyes away. She looked like, dare he say it, a _mother_. A great big smile was on her face as she trotted quite happily back and forth, making sure that nothing was amiss. However when a trio of ice drakes walked up to her and said something then, she did something even more wonderful and laughed, the clear sound of her voice reverberating around the entire area. Spyro's smile grew wider, even though he didn't know what she was so pleased about. The hatchlings certainly did though, because she then rolled onto her back and grabbed the nearest drake in her forepaws, holding him up into the air.

"Oh, I think you'll like this part. She figured this game out by herself..." Ariya noted, humming happily to herself. He short her a glance of curiosity but didn't have to wait long for an explanation as all of a sudden he heard the familiar whooshing sound of Cynder's wind element whistling through the narrow gaps in the door.

Snapping his eyes back, he saw that Cynder was aiming a gentle gust of wind energy towards the little hatchling. Very very carefully, she then released the young ice drake and he squealed out in joy as the column of wind supported him in mid-air, as if he were flying. His tiny wings fluttered in the breeze and at all at once the other children dropped what they were doing and ran over, clearly desperate for their own turn.

 _I wonder why she was so reluctant to tell me about all of this?_ He pondered thoughtfully, _She's amazing!_

All of a sudden Spyro felt felt the sapphire scaled dragoness poke his shoulder with a paw then, and he snatched his gaze away for just a moment to look at her.

"Say, have you you ever considered it before?" She asked with a wry smile, "If not, I think you ought to have a little chat with her soon, else Cynder might start getting ideas..."

Feeling his cheeks flush, Spyro laughed a little nervously. Truthfully this subject wasn't one that he felt entirely comfortable with. The whole hatchling discussion was awkward enough to talk to Cynder about in private, let alone with someone that he hadn't spoken to in nigh on ten years. The truth of the matter was that sadly, with their busy lifestyles, neither of them would have the time to take on such a critically important venture. It just wouldn't be fair on anyone right now.

 _Better to feign ignorance,_ Spyro quickly thought, _I don't think she'd understand, would she?_

"I'm not quite sure what you mean..." Spyro eventually responded, attempting to show that he was rather unwilling to discuss this topic in his body posture, "What is it that you're trying to say, exactly?"

Ariya just raised an eyebrow, somehow knowing at once that he understood perfectly what she meant. He avoided her gaze and sighed in defeat, knowing the game was up.

"You becoming parents, dear!" She giggled, rolling her eyes exasperatedly, as if this was the simplest thing in the entire world. "Surely you must have talked about it at some point before now? You have been mates for quite some time, and it is the year of the dragon after all..."

 _And there it was!_ Spyro despaired, _Oh ancestors, what do I say? I don't want to be rude, but it isn't really her business, is it?_

"Well..." He began hesitantly, sparing a brief moment to look back through the window at what Cynder was doing, which at the moment seemed to be taking turns in levitating each child one by one. The current little fire dragoness' laughter echoed loudly throughout the chamber, and he found a slight smile tugging at his lips regardless.

"Yes, we've talked about it a few times." Spyro admitted reluctantly, blushing furiously, "But I came here because I need Cynder's help, not for... _that!_ "

"Of course!" Ariya smiled warmly, though her bright blue eyes still twinkled with barely restrained delight, "I was only curious, dear. Go on inside then, and don't worry, I'll take care of the young ones..."

Spyro smiled weakly in thanks, then nosed open the door at last and trotted inside rather carefully. Cynder of course noticed him at once, and he saw her visibly jump in surprise, grabbing the current occupant of her wind stream in her paws and gently lower the disappointed looking hatchling to the ground. Those two emerald eyes widened with such obvious fear at seeing him here that it made him falter in mid-step, feeling rather alarmed at seeing this kind of reaction.

"Hey..." He said, trying to smile reassuringly in his mate's direction, "Do you have a minute to talk? It's about the council, and I could really use your help..."

An embarrassed blush quickly formed on her cheeks, and Cynder suddenly looked to the older dragoness with what looked like disdain. "You brought him here, didn't you?" She asked with clear incredulity, her expression filling with dread, "I told you not to, ancestors above! Oh gosh Spyro, this is awkward..."

Spyro eventually just chuckled to silence her and closed the remaining distance in a few short strides, leaning forwards to nuzzle against her cheek as per their normal greeting. She stiffened at first from such contact, but eventually relaxed slightly and learned into him. She seemed to be avoiding looking at him in the eye though, clearly quite embarrassed with herself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He cooed comfortingly, lowering his head to her level. "You were great back there, Cynder! Just how long have you been doing this?"

She laughed rather reluctantly in response and shoved him away with a light push. In no time at all Ariya had gathered all of the hatchlings around her, leaving Cynder free to talk without being distracted. Spyro couldn't help but notice how she still seemed to be occasionally glancing up every now and again, as if she were still worried about them all. This thought amused him greatly and he chuckled to himself quite without meaning to, eliciting a sharp growl of disapproval from his mate.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it." He grinned, shaking his head, though it was obvious from the sharp stare she returned in his direction that she didn't believe him. "Anyway, Ariya said she'd take care of things for a few minutes while we talked, so you needn't worry about them for now. Come on, we can step outside for a minute where it's quieter, okay?"

Cynder seemed to want to say a million things right now, a confused sort of scowl on her expression as he got up to leave. She stayed resolutely still, not moving a muscle despite his prompting. He turned back to face her then and tried to smile reassuringly after realising that he was leaving her behind.

"You're... you're not gonna say anything else, then?" She pondered, looking rather lost. When he simply raised an eyebrow in confusion, she elaborated with a humourless laugh, looking away rather bashfully, "I... I guess for some reason that thought you'd think less of me for doing this, or something... that was kinda stupid, huh?"

"Why would I think any less of you?" Spyro replied, tiling his head in genuine curiously, "If anything, I...-"

He paused to make sure that Ariya wasn't paying attention, then leaned closer to whisper in her ear, "-besides, I think this sort of thing suits you, Cynder..."

If she was feeling bashful before, his words now seemingly put her on a whole other level of embarrassment. Her entire face went bright red all at once and she stammered, looking away with a silly sort of smile on her lips as she pawed at his shoulder. "Oh shut up, I'm trying to be serious, you dork!"

He pretended to look hurt and laughed, "And so am I! Really, you were great!"

Cynder's smile warmed considerably at this praise nonetheless, and she soon got to her feet after talking with Ariya to say she would be back soon. She then followed Spyro as he went out through the exit and into the deserted corridor beyond, closing the door behind them in the process. He settled on his haunches and she did likewise after finding a suitable spot. Some of the rocks out here were slightly unsteady, but once she was settled, Spyro tried to put on a more serious expression.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" She asked, "Something about the council, you said?"

And so, with a sigh, Spyro relayed everything that Cyril had said to them, as well as Ferenth's thoughts and conclusions on the matter. When he was finished she simply hummed in thought, tapping her claws on the ground in very much a similar manner as the younger shadow drake had done. They were, after all, quite alike in many different ways that he hadn't appreciated before. He wondered for a brief moment if it was something to do with their shadow elements, but the sound of Cynder taking a deep breath snapped him out of it.

"I think this friend of yours is right, Spyro." She eventually stated, "But really, I can't believe you snapped at Cyril like that! What the heck were you thinking? Falling out with the guardians isn't going to do us any favours, you know!"

Spyro cringed slightly and nodded his head dumbly. "I know, I shouldn't have, but I was just so angry and tired from all of these secrets all the time, I just wanted answers! I couldn't help but keep thinking about what happened that night when I came back, and how close I came to loosing you and Sparx, and not being able to protect either of you! I didn't want that to risk having that happen ever again and I... I guess I kinda flipped out..."

Cynder's eyes narrowed in sympathetic understanding at this explanation and she placed a paw on top of his, "Anyway, what's done is done, it doesn't matter." She sighed, "What we _do_ need though, is to find out more information, even if they aren't going to tell us willingly. You can't be expected to keep putting your life on the line for something you don't know anything about, even if they do say our race might be at risk. It's just not fair."

"That's what I said to Cyril, but he wouldn't listen!" He frowned in despair, "But how can we find out anything now? I don't think they'll exactly volunteer information, especially after that little... _incident_..."

After brooding in thought for a few seconds, suddenly Cynder's eyes lit up with an idea.

"Hey, do you think Sparx might be able to help us?" She asked, "He did sort of get into the bad habit of sneaking into the council chambers while you were away, and as hard as it is for me to admit, the little gnat actually did get quite good at it..."

Spyro found himself smirking at this information, knowing that it was probably true- it certainly sounded like something his brother would do. The only issue was that Sparx had disappeared since before he had even woken up, and he hadn't the slightest idea where he could be right now.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to try at least." The purple dragon shrugged, "Do you know where he might be? I haven't seen him all day."

Cynder rolled her eyes and simply grinned, obviously knowing something that he didn't, "Oh I'm sure he's out trimming a bush or planting some flowers about now, something like that..."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Spyro asked, feeling utterly lost. She took one look at him and giggled to herself, seemingly remembering something.

"Ah! Well I guess that's one thing I forgot to tell you since you got back. Turns out that your brother has a job as a gardener now..."

* * *

The twin celestial moons were just now starting to peek above the horizon far away in the distance, signalling the end of another day. Spyro wouldn't have normally minded, except for the fact that Sparx had said he would have been home several hours ago. He resumed grinding his teeth together anxiously as he looked up from where he was sitting at the dining room table at home to track the position of the moons more critically. By his best estimate, it had been four or five hours since they had last spoken. Long enough to make him start to worry, at least.

Letting out a long and exasperated sigh, he tapped his claws on the dining room table impatiently, trying to ignore the rumbling of his empty stomach as best he could. The scents of whatever Cynder was currently making for their evening meal in the nearby kitchen was admittedly quite appetising, but even this couldn't totally unravel the knot of tension that had been steadily growing in his belly since the events of that evening. Truthfully, he doubted anything could at this point.

"He should be back by now, surely!" Spyro said out loud, scowling to himself. "I might have to go and look for him soon, I think..."

The sound of Cynder's approaching paw steps suddenly snapped him out of his momentary pondering however, and he looked up in her direction with a smile. She returned it in kind but then she suddenly stopped, her expression dropping at once. Her eyes glanced at the tray she was carrying in her mouth and then back to Spyro, and without warning she promptly allowed the whole thing to drop to the table with a loud crash that made him jump in surprise.

"Ancestors above, can't I do anything right?!" She despaired, quickly stomping back into the kitchen again, flicking her tail so forcefully that the metallic tail blade actually tore a chunk of stone from the table in the process, where it landed with a dull thud onto the carpet below. He flinched, so shocked that at first he didn't even realise what had happened until a few seconds later when he heard more things being smashed and broken from the direction of the kitchen.

"How hard can it be to remember have to make _two_ servings now, not _one_?!" Cynder growled from in the kitchen, "It's been a week and you still forget! Stupid, stupid! Ugh!"

Spyro rather belatedly jump to his feet in alarm, a frown of great worry on his expression as he padded towards the sound of all the commotion his mate was causing. He didn't understand at first what had caused her to be so frustrated, but he then stole a quick glance to the tray and only saw one plate of food.

Sighing in understanding, Spyro stepped into the kitchen and mentally braced himself for what was to come. She certainly didn't sound like she was in a good mood at all and probably wouldn't be very appreciative of any help, that much he knew from experience.

"Hey!" He then said, just loudly enough to catch her attention. "What's going on? What's wrong, Cynder?"

The black scaled dragoness simply turned a look of fury to him and bared her teeth in reply, growling defensively. He stepped backwards to give her some space and watched her actions feeling rather subdued all of a sudden as she began to drag several things from the cupboards with great haste onto the worktop. She was clearly trying to make more food, but if it was going to get her into this kind of state, he didn't want to annoy her any more.

"Hey it's okay, I can take care of it," He then offered, stepping forwards to nuzzle against her shoulder affectionately, "Why don't you go sit down and take a quick rest? It's no big deal, don't worry about it! You've just had a long day is all, right?"

She seemed to consider this for a moment, but then just simply growled again and flared her wing to push him away from her personal space. "No! It's my stupid fault and I have to fix it, go away!" Cynder snapped.

Normally Spyro would have taken this as his cue to leave, but seeing her getting so stressed out about something so trivial as this was something that concerned him deeply. He felt oddly protective all of a sudden and he pushed closer to be by her side once more, something which she clearly didn't like at all by the stare of utter contempt she shot at him in reply.

"Cynder, it's no problem, really!" He tried to insist, grabbing a lump of meat in his paws before she could do so herself, something that made her growl, "Go ahead and start without me, I'll just be a minute- I don't mind if it's cold..."

Far quicker than he could react though, Cynder then snatched the meat back from his paws and growled threateningly once more. "I don't need you fussing me Spyro, I can do things by myself! Just leave me alone!"

The pure venom in her words made him falter on the spot, not certain at first if he had even heard her correctly. In all of their years together, she had never spoken to him in this way before and he was more than just a little shocked to hear it. His concern grew tenfold as a result, but the worried expression on his face seemed to be just annoying her even more because she just snarled once more, baring her teeth.

"Cynder, what's gotten into you? You're not like this!" He asked quietly, stepping closer to her side once more to envelop her in his wing, "Talk to me, I'm worried about you..."

His mate stared harshly at him for the longest time, but eventually her eyes softened slightly and the black scaled dragoness just let out a long sigh. She threw the meat in her paws back to the worktop and settled to her haunches, allowing him to tug her a little closer to his shoulder. Without warning she started to sob and splutter, and she grabbed one of his paws tightly.

"I'm so useless, I can't do anything right!" She whined, now in obvious distress, "Why is everything so hard all the time? I don't even deserve your pity, Spyro, I'm stronger than this! So why am I...so h...hopeless now? I...I just feel like I'm always letting you down all the time! I don't deserve to be your mate, not after all t...this..."

Spyro was utterly perplexed by this sudden change in her emotional state, but right then his only thought was of trying to comfort her in any way he could. He tugged her even closer and cooed softly, resting his head on top of hers. "Hey, don't say things like that, you know that's not true! I love you Cynder, you're everything to me- you're the best mate I could ever ask for! Sometimes some of us just have bad days, okay? I understand, I really do! Hush now, it's okay..."

Cynder smiled weakly for only a brief moment at this statement before quite unexpectedly falling into a totally inconsolable state all at once, just crying her eyes out until they were red raw and puffy. He really didn't know what was wrong with her at all, but he tried everything from kissing her forehead, to rubbing his paws down her back, anything at all in order to calm her down.

"Shhh!" He hummed, "It's alright, I'm here..."

It must have taken her at least a good few minutes to stop crying, but her nose was still running and she sniffed quite frequently, just cuddling up tightly against his chest until she had seemingly worn herself out, everything falling abruptly quiet at once aside from her ragged breathing.

Her whole body was trembling still, but feeling the moment was right, Spyro reached out with a paw gently and raised her chin to make her look him in the eye. "Better?" He asked, smiling warmly. For good measure he also planted a quick kiss on her lips, too. She managed a brave chuckle in reply and tried to release herself from his embrace, something which he did rather reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, Spyro. I don't know what got into me..." Cynder sniffed, rubbing her nose with a paw. She looked just as confused as he did, which made him feel even more concerned.

Fixing her with a worried stare now, Spyro lowered his head slightly and found a million questions coming to mind all at once. This wasn't the first time, now that he thought about it, that he had seen her acting so strangely. Ever since he had gotten back from assignment, he had this feeling that something was different about her, though he couldn't quite put a paw on what it was. There were some obvious things that he couldn't explain, like her newly found interest in dragonfly cuisine, or how one moment she seemed to be happy but the next breaking down in tears at times, just like this. He had also accidentally discovered a very potent medicine in her satchel as well, something that clearly she didn't want to tell him about. Ancestors, he could even swear that her scent was even a little different, at times. He simply hadn't the faintest clue how to explain any of it.

Spyro had up until this point refrained from asking about any of these observations though, thinking that he was perhaps imagining things, or that maybe she just needed some time to get used to having him around again. Now though, after witnessing such an outburst, he felt like this wasn't something he was prepared to ignore any longer. At the end of the day she was his mate, and if there was something wrong, he wanted to know about it.

"Cynder, I..." He hesitated, suddenly uncertain of how to put his suspicions into words diplomatically however, considering her fragile emotional state. She looked incredibly embarrassed and ashamed right now, and she didn't even seem willing to look at him in the eye anymore. At the slightest prodding she looked ready to break back out into tears again, and at once he abandoned this line of thought for something else.

"Hey, you said you wanted to have a nice hot bath earlier, didn't you? Why don't I go run one for you right now and we can forget about supper for a while?" He suggested, leaning closer to nuzzle her cheek. "I bet it'd do you good, give you some time to unwind..."

The black scaled dragoness sniffed loudly and rubbed her nose with a paw, and after a brief period of hesitation simply nodded.

"Yeah, I... I think I'd like that..."

* * *

The warmth of the bathroom hit her like a wall and Cynder faltered a little in surprise as a wave of steam unexpectedly washed over her entire body. It was so thick that she could barely see anything at all. Normally she would have made a quip about the temperature being too warm or too cold, but she felt so drained right now that she simply couldn't be bothered. By her side, Spyro tugged her with his wing and led her inside with a chuckle.

"Hot enough for you?" He mused, nuzzling at her cheek, seemingly knowing what she was thinking. Cynder could only smile faintly in response. Again she saw the potential for another joke, but she didn't particularly feel like expending the effort to even open her mouth. All she wanted more than anything was to just flop down in the bath in the corner and forget about everything for a while. Thankfully Spyro seemed to realise this, and quite obligingly fell silent. This non-verbal communication was something that had taken her years to train him to understand, but he had taken to it quite well, thankfully.

 _I'm so lucky to have him, aren't I?_ She thought, smiling to herself, _I can't believe I snapped at him like that though, what's gotten into me?_

As unfortunately their bathroom wasn't very large, it took little time for them to reach the far wall, the tiled flooring clacking underpaw as their claws tapped repeatedly on the surface. It was a wonder that she even managed to stay upright considering how wobbly she felt right now, but the shallow depression in the floor that served as their bath was only a step away, and she promptly slipped into it gratefully needing little further prompting, letting out a long sigh of contentment as the water came up to her neck quite snugly.

"Take as long as you need, Cynder..." Spyro said softly then, hesitating by the side of the water, "If you need me I'll just be outside, okay?"

Cynder simply nodded, still not trusting herself to speak for fear of coming out in another blubbering mess again. He kissed her forehead and just smiled, nuzzling her cheek again before turning to leave.

"I love you, Cynder."

"I... I love you, too..." She smiled weakly.

Once she heard her mate leaving and closing the door behind him, she promptly closed her eyes and tried to relax as much as possible, though she found this task almost impossible. Her thoughts were concentrated almost entirely about her recent behaviour, and how little she actually understood it. She tried and tried to rationalise it, but found that the simple reason she couldn't explain it was because there _was_ no explanation. It had just happened without warning, and the most worrying thing of all was that it hadn't been the first time. Spyro hadn't seen most of it because he had been away in council these last few days, but she had been crying an awful lot recently for no little reason. This was odd, because she wasn't exactly the type of dragoness to cry when she had a bad day, or moan that things weren't fair, because she knew it wasn't fair. Life was hard, and she had learned this lesson a very long time ago in Gaul's dungeons as a child. Why was this any different?

 _I'm better than this!_ Cynder mentally asserted, _Why can't I control my own emotions anymore? What the heck is wrong with me?_

The truth of the matter was that Cynder just didn't understand any of this, of why all these strange things were still happening to her, even after the doctor had cleared her of any illnesses. The medicine she had been given didn't seem to be working anymore, and the symptoms were still getting worse by the day. She could live with it for now, but the strange stares she often received from Spyro and Sparx for behaving so strangely of late was something that she despised. No, something needed to be done.

 _I'm going to ask for a different doctor to take a look at me tomorrow, because this one is utterly useless. Maybe there's some other medicine I can try, or something..._

As usual however, Cynder soon discovered that by simply doing things her mind was less likely to linger on such thoughts. Deciding that her scales could probably do with a good clean since she was here, Cynder grabbed a scrubber and began to lather her entire body, taking extra attention to make certain that her forelegs were decently covered. An incident in the hatchery earlier involving a rather clumsy earth dragoness volunteer had meant that she had several different shades of paint splattered all over her chest and forelegs, something that she was quite keen to remove.

For the rest of her body however, Cynder continued in almost a half daze, not really lingering on any particular spot. The warmth of the water seemed to be helping tremendously though, because it didn't take long at all for the bath to begin to darken with all of the accumulated dirt and grime that had been lingering unseen on her body for all of this time. She noted with some satisfaction that most of the scales on her upper body were gleaming now, and so she then moved onto her underbelly rather more carefully a few minutes later.

Knowing full well that she was quite ticklish in certain spots here, Cynder swapped out the brush for a sponge and steadily began to work her way down until each crimson scale glistened just as beautifully as her vanity wished them to. It was all going quite well she thought, until quite unexpectedly whilst cleaning her lower abdomen, Cynder found herself gasping in surprise as the sponge passed over an unusually sensitive spot. The sensation was quite unlike anything she had ever experienced before, and at once she drew herself out of the water a little to look more closely in the light, brow narrowing in confusion.

"What the heck...?" She grumbled, raising an eyebrow. As far as she could tell there was nothing there. No injuries, no marks, nothing. Just the same old bright red scales as there always had been.

Dropping the sponge, Cynder reached out with a paw to touch this area more carefully, frowning in concern as that same unpleasant sensation returned once more when she applied a gentle pressure to that patch of scales. Flattening her paw now, she discovered quite alarmingly all of a sudden that this part of her stomach was distended ever so slightly, and under her scales, she could feel what she could only describe as several bumps just underneath the surface.

She was utterly puzzled by this discovery, and it took her several long minutes of careful poking and prodding to determine the exact shape of each bump. Each one she found was roughly the same size, and generally it seemed, were equally ovular. At first she was worried it might be some kind of infection or internal injury, but then all of a sudden, another perhaps more equally worrying explanation came to mind; one that explained all of her recent problems all too well...

"Oh ancestors!"

* * *

 **AN: Huh. Wonder what this means :P**

 **Oh my lawds, nearly 2 months since an update?! I'm so sorry!**

 **I could write loads of reasons why it took so long, but the general gist is that I ended up writing so many different starts for this chapter (in total nearly 15k words of garbage) that I eventually had to just give up and try skipping forwards in time, going in this direction instead. Hopefully it wasn't too jarring, but no matter how I ended up writing a direct continuation from the last chapter I just couldn't do it with my normal enthusiasm and it really sucked.**

 **I'm not going to lie though, I** **honestly hate everything about this chapter and I'm sorry if it's not up to normal standard, but it was getting to the point where editing it was actually making it worse than better, so here we are! Uploaded with fingers crossed it wasn't too bad D:**

 **Perhaps we shall revisit the "evacuation" of Avion later in more detail. I have actually already wrote most of it but just not in a format that would really fit. Sounds like some stuff happened out there that Spyro isn't proud of. I wonder what that is? Hmm!**

 **Truthfully I've kind of been burned out with toiling with this chapter for so long that I might take a week's break or so and come back at this story again when my drive to write is back. Just not feeling it right now if I'm honest.**

 **When I'm ready to go again though, what would you guys prefer? Another chapter of "Expecting" or "By the ancestors"? I'm personally undecided as to which one would be more fun to write another chapter for. Interesting things are about to happen in both!**

 **Thoughts, feedback and criticisms are all welcomed as always though! I'd really appreciate any pointers/tips to improve in a review or PM!**

 **Thanks for reading, I shall see you next time! (hopefully?) :P**

 **Update 2nd March: Oh gawd this chapter is terrible! So much cringe and awfulness! Just sat down to start on chapter 10 and had to re-read this one to do it and oh dear, what a mistake that was! I'll really have to re-write this at some point, I'm not happy with it one bit. **


	10. Revelation

Cynder didn't want to believe it at first, but the evidence was right there, clear as day. Her chest constricted with a fear of the likes she hadn't experienced in years, a hard lump quickly forming in her throat, making it difficult to breathe. Her whole body began to tremble at the very thought of what _might_ be growing underneath those scales, and for the longest time she was left frozen to the spot, absolutely terrified out of her mind.

"It... It can't be!" Cynder eventually stammered in disbelief, her voice barely a whisper, as she once again reaffirmed her initial observations by poking and prodding at her stomach with a paw, albeit more gently this time. However, no matter how carefully she examined herself, or what kind of desperate mental somersaults she made trying to find another explanation for what she had found, she came up with nothing.

 _The doctors said it might be this, and you didn't listen!_ A voice in her head jeered. _You didn't think it was possible, did you? You just laughed at them!_

"N...no! They're wrong!" Cynder asserted sharply in reply to herself, though her voice wavered, as for a brief and horrifying moment, she thought back to that night of fiery passion she had shared with Spyro all those weeks ago, her subconscious mind working frantically to either prove or disprove this theory in any way that it could.

Admittedly at the time, now that she thought about it, that whole encounter had felt _different,_ somehow. It was only now, seeing the slight swelling of her stomach however, that she was starting to realise why that was. Her cheeks flushed madly with embarrassment at this thought, and she shook her head in disbelief one last time, trying desperately to cling onto any tiny shred of denial left to her, that something like this couldn't _really_ be happening.

"I... I can't be..." Cynder whined uneasily, trying her very hardest to remain composed. However it soon became obvious that this was a loosing battle, her emotions gradually starting to get the better of her. A rising sense of panic started to blossom in her chest as she slowly began to rationalise that there wasn't any other way to explain this, her eyes rapidly filling with tears in the process.

 _Oh ancestors, what have I done...?_

"Stop it! Get a grip!" She hissed at herself sharply once more in disbelief, trying to shake herself back to a more rational state of mind. "They're not eggs, there's no way! I can't be gr... grav...-"

That word. It caught in her throat before she could say it out loud, but it lingered in her mind regardless, echoing almost tauntingly. The implications absolutely terrified her, because deep down, despite her reluctance to admit it to herself, she just somehow _knew_ that it had to be true. She could almost feel it in her bones.

 _Gravid. Oh ancestors, I'm gravid..._

Seen from this new perspective, recent events admittedly did seem to make a whole lot more sense to her now, and for a brief moment, Cynder even felt a little relieved that she hadn't actually been suffering from a more serious condition, as she had long since feared.

However, this new-found understanding of her situation did very little to make this news any easier to accept, though. If anything it made her feel even worse, and in a mad panic she leapt to her feet, desperately scrambling to get out of the bath as fast as she could. Her breathing was coming in short sharp pants, her heart thundering away with such a speed that it almost felt as if it were about to jump out of her chest at any moment. Her thoughts were all over the place, but the main thing she felt right now was fear; a fear that neither of them were prepared enough to deal with such immense responsibility!

 _It wasn't supposed to happen this way! It's... it's too soon! We didn't plan for this!_

"What do I do? _What do I do?_ " Cynder despaired, fresh tears starting to roll down her cheeks. A great conflict of emotion stirred within her very soul as the full gravity of the situation finally hit home at this point, threatening at any moment to utterly destroy whatever small bit of composure she had left, a mixture of both joy and utter dread colliding inside her heart. She really didn't know whether to laugh or cry; it was all a bit too much for her to deal with right now.

"Eggs..." Cynder breathed at last, choking back a particularly powerful sob. She swayed on the spot unsteadily, her legs feeling weak and barely capable of holding her weight. Everything else but her newly discovered problem quickly became irrelevant and unimportant, and as a result, she barely even noticed how the water pouring off her body was totally soaking the floor and ruining the towels that Spyro had laid out for her, or how her tail had knocked over several of the other grooming items on the shelving nearby, too.

 _I... I don't know what to do! I can't do this alone, I... I can't!_

Cynder's emotions eventually began to overpower any rational thought she might have had, and all of her worries, doubts and fears about what would happen next soon became far too much for her to bear.

It started slowly at first with just a few light sobs, but soon escalated fairly rapidly into her eventually wailing and bawling without restraint, all of these feelings being let out at once. She fell to her haunches and gripped her head tightly in her paws, but soon found this wasn't sufficient and collapsed to the ground instead, curling up tightly, just wishing that she would wake up from this nightmare; that she wouldn't have to deal with this anymore, that everything would be back to normal again.

Only in her heart, she knew it never would be. Nothing would ever be the same from this point forwards, for either of them. The worst part was that she hadn't the slightest idea on how Spyro might react to this kind of news, or how she might even go about telling him in the first place. All kind of scenarios popped into her mind, and not one of them was comforting in the slightest.

 _Would he be mad? Would he even want this? Ancestors, I... I just don't know..._

Cynder must have laid there trembling on the floor for several minutes at least, totally lost to the wider world. She felt very much alone, her cries and self-pitying sobs echoing loudly throughout the bathroom and presumably as well, the rest of the house. It was perhaps inevitable that Spyro would come and investigate, but when his soft and concerned sounding voice spoke through the door scarcely a few moments later, it still made her jump in alarm and scramble away into the far corner like a frightened animal.

 _No, I can't face him yet, I'm not ready!_

"Cynder?" His voice asked quizzically, "Is everything alright in there?"

She tried to speak, to get him to leave, but nothing came out aside from a dry croak as her voice gave out unexpectedly. Her mouth felt dry, her throat sore and painful from all of this crying, and it was impossible for her to do anything but simply curl up tighter and hope that he went away by himself, that her silence would be all the answers that he needed. Spyro was usually good enough to pick up on such hints, but apparently this time, he wasn't.

"I'm coming in, okay?"

Cynder's trembling only grew worse as the door squeaked open a second later. Through the steamy air she could just about make out Spyro's outline on the far side of the room, his head looking left and right curiously as he obviously struggled to spot her dark scales in the relative darkness of the far corner. His paw-steps were light and hesitant at first as he walked in the direction of the bath, but it only took him a moment or two to spot where she was sitting, a look of relief quickly forming on his expression.

Their eyes met for only a second, but Cynder daredn't look at him for longer than that, an inescapable feeling of terror forcing her to avert her gaze and curl up tighter, to make herself appear smaller in his presence. Just having him this close was enough to make her entire body tense up involuntarily, something which forced him to hesitate mid-stride for a moment or two.

There was an awkward silence then, only broken by Cynder's occasional ragged breathing as she attempted, but failed, to regain some form of decency in front of her mate. She just wanted to be strong, to face this with dignity, but there was precious little that she could do to hide the fact that tears were still streaming freely down her face; her chest heaving pathetically with every breath.

"Spyro, I..." She stammered, unable to find the words to even _begin_ to explain what she was feeling right now. He looked worried beyond belief at seeing her like this, and he leaned a little closer, as if to encourage her to continue. She couldn't find the strength to do it though, and so she just ended up staring into those big round purple eyes in silence, a growing sense of anxiety churning in her gut that only got worse with every passing second. It was like she was staring over an endless abyss; a point of no return. She couldn't take it anymore!

"Hey, it's okay..." Spyro hummed softly, smiling sympathetically as he seemed to sense the need to intervene at this point. "Shh... I'm here..."

When he moved to envelop her under one of those huge orange wings a second or two later, his all too familiar scent washed over her like a blanket, comforting her in a way that nothing else really could. She soon abandoned all attempts to put on a brave face and simply collapsed against his form, burrowing her head into his shoulder as another wave of sobs wracked her body. He simply held her tightly in return, whispering words of reassurance in her ear that she so desperately needed to hear.

"It's okay... whatever it is, it's okay..." He hummed, squeezing her paw affectionately, "Hush now, I'm right here..."

As the minutes went by, Cynder found herself inevitably falling quieter, the trembling and sobbing gradually calming down as a sense of utter exhaustion, both physically and mentally, suddenly hit her like a brick wall. This was as far as her endurance could take her, and her two emerald green eyes started to close almost on their own accord. A great big tired yawn escaped her mouth as well, and for a brief moment, she actually somehow managed to forget what she was so worried about in the first place. The alluring warmth of Spyro's scales in this tight embrace made it far too easy for her to start drifting away without thinking, and she very nearly found herself falling asleep right there and then.

"Hey come on, you can't sleep here..." The purple dragon chuckled softly, giving her a gentle shake with a paw. She could feel his warm breath tickling the back of her neck as he leaned closer, and he gave her a little nudge with the end of his snout as well, in an attempt to get her to stand up. When she made no attempt to move however, he tried a different approach.

"Look, am I really going to have to carry you?" He mused playfully, nuzzling into her neck. "Trust me, I will if I have to..."

Cynder weakly groaned in protest at this suggestion, but the unfortunate truth of the matter was that she was simply too tired to do anything about it, even if she wanted to. Inevitably, she soon found herself being half-dragged back into the lounge, using what little strength she had left to hobble along by his side, step by step. She stumbled several times in the process, but with his help, they somehow managed it.

By the time Spyro had eventually laid her down onto one of the huge cushions in front of the fireplace, she was just so totally and utterly _done_ with everything, that she just collapsed right there on the spot. Her limbs were tangled in a confusing sprawl, but she was far beyond caring about such trivial issues right now. The warmth of the fire was just perfect, and this feeling of cosiness only got better when she felt Spyro's forearms wrapping around her waist, tugging her into a possessive embrace from behind. She couldn't help but purr happily in reply.

"Sweet dreams, Cynder..." Spyro whispered softly, leaning closer to plant a quick kiss on her forehead. A faint smile tugged at her lips, and from that moment onwards, she actually began to feel rather at peace. Her worries seemed a long way away right now, and she took great comfort in just _knowing_ that Spyro cared so much for her, that he would do whatever it took to make her happy...

As Cynder's consciousness finally began to fade, one peculiar feeling started to manifest in her heart, one that she didn't expect to be experiencing at all considering the circumstances. It took her a while to realise what it was, but when she did, her smile grew even wider.

 _Maybe..._ She pondered thoughtfully, _Maybe this isn't going to be so bad..._

* * *

When morning dawned the next day, Cynder found herself being woken up quite unexpectedly by the rather affectionate but unwanted attentions of a certain purple dragon. Despite how she groaned tiredly in response to his actions and tried to shove him away in her half-awake state, she felt him start to kiss at her neck and face anyway, obviously in an attempt to get her to wake up. In short, rather annoyingly, it was working.

A slight smile of bemusement started to tug at Cynder's lips as she eventually realised the futility of resisting at last, her eyes fluttering open to fix him with a glare of minor irritance for waking her up so early. It was a major effort just to keep her eyes open for more than a few short seconds at a time, and a great big tired yawn escaped her maw before she could stop it.

"Morning sleepyhead!" Spyro stated somewhat playfully at that point, chuckling merrily to himself. "Wow, someone sure looks beautiful today..."

Cynder couldn't help but let out a brief snort of amusement and she pawed at his face tiredly, something which made him laugh. She felt him leaning forwards to kiss her cheek a second later, just like he always did. His two strong forearms pulled her closer against his chest too, and she found herself reclining against his larger form almost instinctively, sighing happily to herself.

 _There were certainly worse ways to start a day, that was for sure..._

For a while Cynder was simply content to enjoy the moment, her smile growing wider still as she felt his tail entwine with hers. It was just so warm and so comfortable being wrapped up like this, that for a while she thought of nothing but how wonderfully attractive his scent was in this tight embrace, how gentle and lovingly that he was holding her. It was the best feeling in the world, and she wouldn't have traded it for anything. In the sort of blissful oblivion she found her mind wandering into as a result, nothing else besides their love for one another really seemed to matter anymore. It was, to put it simply, perfect.

"So how are we feeling today?" Spyro mused softly a short while later, giving her a little squeeze in his arms. "Better, I hope?"

Cynder was initially puzzled by this odd question, her mind struggling to make sense of it for quite some time. Inevitably however, the events of the previous night eventually caught up with her. At once her smile began to fade, the cosiness of the moment evaporating instantly as she was once again reminded about her recently discovered _condition,_ and all of the issues and concerns that accompanied it.

 _This is real, isn't it?_ She found herself despairing. _Oh ancestors, guide me..._

Her mouth opened and closed a few times in an attempt to reply to him, to say _something_ , anything at all, but she simply couldn't do it; the words wouldn't come. Her throat felt dry and almost painful, and now that she remembered why, it didn't make her feel any better in the slightest.

 _Eggs! Oh ancestors, I'm gravid..._

Cynder's paws at this point gravitated towards the slight swelling in her abdomen almost without conscious thought, and she held them there for a long time, not willing to move another muscle. The only sound she could hear was the rapid and almost panicked fluttering of her heart as she struggled to remain composed, a sensation of utter dread rapidly filling her entire body, causing her to start trembling involuntarily once again. All kinds of thoughts and worries were racing through her mind, she really didn't know what to do.

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry Cynder..." Spyro cooed softly then, quickly noticing her distress. In his arms he rocked her gently back and forth, humming in understanding. She felt him nuzzle into her neck and he ended up resting his head on her shoulder, his warm breath tickling her cheek. "Forget I said anything, okay?"

 _Pull it together!_ A voice in her head yelled, Y _ou're stronger than this, stop being so dramatic! Deal with it now, or it's only going to get worse!_

In line with such thoughts, the black scaled dragoness simply found herself nodding in acceptance to Spyro's advice, taking in several deep and calming breaths, simply drawing strength from his presence. She tried to focus on the positives, and for a while at least, it seemed to be working.

Eventually therefore, when she felt strong enough, Cynder slowly started to pull herself away from his embrace. Spyro hesitated at first, eyeing her with worry, but he soon released his grip reluctantly, allowing her to turn and face him. Summoning what little courage she had, Cynder opened her mouth to speak. He smiled warmly in encouragement as she did this, squeezing her shoulders in his paws.

"Spyro, I... I need to tell you something..."

Before she could finish though, an odd rumbling sound suddenly filled the air, causing both of them to falter in alarm. The two dragons looked at each other in utter bewilderment for a few seconds, but then it happened again, even louder this time. Spyro just looked as baffled as she did, but soon enough, Cynder recognised what it was. Apparently it seemed, her empty stomach had something it wanted to say as well.

Spyro started to grin like an idiot as he came to this realisation too, and even Cynder, after a brief period of embarrassment, soon saw the funny side of it. They both ended up laughing heartily, the tension in the room breaking almost immediately. For a brief while, her anxieties faded. She actually began to feel a little more relaxed, a weak smile starting to tug at her lips as he nuzzled against her cheek affectionately.

 _See?_ Cynder told herself, _This isn't so bad..._

"Hungry, huh?" The purple dragon eventually mused with a chuckle, getting to his feet at that point. "Come on, let's find you something to eat. You must be starving!"

He extended his wing in invitation, and after a moment's hesitation she took it, following his lead as he trotted towards the dining room. The faint scent of leftover food hung heavily in the air, and almost immediately her stomach growled once more with renewed hunger. It took all of her self-restraint to not dive right in as soon she sat down at the table.

The second that Spyro was settled though, she held nothing back. Grabbing as much as she could in her paws, Cynder ate as if she hadn't so much as _seen_ food for several days. Her body demanded it- and who was she to refuse? After all, she wasn't exactly doing it for just herself anymore.

For some reason, this thought greatly amused her. A strange warm fuzzy feeling blossomed in her heart, and she found herself smiling in a strange sense of disbelief and wonder, her tail flicking around quite happily.

 _I'm going to have eggs, little hatchlings! I... I can't believe it!_

It didn't take long at all though, rather regrettably, for the food to eventually run out. Settling back to her haunches feeling partially sated now at least, Cynder waited patiently for Spyro to finish his own meal, something that he had quickly grabbed from the kitchen in the meantime. He tried several times to engage her in some small talk whilst he ate at a more leisurely pace, but Cynder honestly didn't feel particularly inclined to join in with much enthusiasm. Her thoughts were rather more focused on the issue at hand, so what little she did offer him in response only amounted to the occasional hum or nod of agreement to whatever it was he was saying.

 _Is this something that we're ready to deal with, though?_ Cynder found herself wondering more seriously now. _It's just, well... we really don't know anything about this, do we? We'd have to get some help, I think..._

"So Cynder, what was it that you wanted to tell me?" Spyro suddenly asked out of the blue whilst tidying the table, abruptly startling her back to reality once more. As their eyes met the purple dragon tried to smile reassuringly in her direction, but it was quite obviously a forced motion, his tail flicking back and forth rather uneasily. He was tense, a lot more tense than she had seen him in a long time, and it made her start to feel distinctly uncomfortable.

"Oh, it's uh... um..." Cynder stammered in reply, gulping nervously. She had been caught totally off guard by this question, and in her flustered state, failed entirely to think of anything coherent to say. Her courage failed her in the heat of the moment, and so she simply ended up looking away from him and sighing. "It's uh... It's nothing, really! Forget I said anything!"

Spyro unfortunately seemed to disagree with this, because he suddenly leaned forwards and exhaled slowly, his brow narrowing deeply with concern. He tilted his head slightly and put the few plates he was holding in his paws back to the table, examining her reaction carefully as he continued to speak.

"Something's changed whilst I've been gone, hasn't it?" He asked quietly, but it was said in such a way that it sounded more like a statement of fact than a question. There was a brief pause, and then he added with a little more confidence, "That's what's bothering you, right?"

Surprised with the accuracy of this line of questioning, Cynder just blinked a few times in response, her mouth falling wide open in shock. Her heart skipped a few beats before suddenly starting to race like mad, pounding away heavily in her chest. A powerful onrush of anxiety flooded through her veins, and it completely paralysed her to the spot with indecision. It was totally irrational to feel this way, she knew, but panic threatened to totally overwhelm her thoughts regardless. She dug her claws tightly into the carpet, a horrible sinking feeling manifesting in her stomach as a rather paranoid but admittedly terrifying thought crossed her mind.

 _Oh ancestors, does he... does he know already?_

Spyro, on seeing this alarmed reaction to his words however, promptly reached out with a paw to rest on top of hers, giving her a little squeeze of reassurance. He was smiling sympathetically, but it didn't really help much though, because she soon found herself getting locked into his intense gaze, unable to look away. She felt like the proverbial rabbit caught in the lamplight, totally transfixed and frozen to the spot in terror.

"Look," The purple dragon sighed at last, his expression softening immeasurably in sympathy. "Whatever it is that's bothering you Cynder, it's really starting to scare me. You've not been acting like yourself recently, and after what happened last night, I don't think this is something we can keep ignoring anymore. If there's something going on that's getting you this worked up, I think I need to know about it."

She didn't have the slightest idea on how to respond though, so Cynder just remained silent instead, wishing very much that she was somewhere else right now. Her heart twisted painfully seeing him looking so worried, a feeling that only got worse when he apparently realised she wasn't going to respond to him. He sighed, dipping his head slightly.

"Please Cynder, just _talk_ to me..." Spyro eventually said, those two big round purple eyes widening imploringly. "You shouldn't have to deal with anything like this all by yourself. I'm here for you now, and you know that I always will be. You don't have to be scared about anything, I just want to understand how I can help you get through this. I promise Cynder, whatever it is, we can figure it out together..."

A long and awkward silence fell then, during which Cynder's throat had tightened so much that she probably couldn't have spoken anyway, even if she wanted to. She tried to look away, but there really was no getting away from this anymore and she knew it. Her mouth opened and closed several times, but no matter how hard she tried to find the courage to tell him the truth; she just couldn't quite bring herself to do it.

 _Why the heck is this so hard?_ She despaired. _All I have to do is just say it, that's all!_

"I... I want to tell you, but I... I can't..." Cynder eventually admitted in defeat after a few moments of consideration, sniffing loudly as fresh tears started to well in her eyes with the frustration of the situation. She could feel herself starting to tremble again, and it only got worse when Spyro moved to sit by her side. As usual he promptly extended his wing and pulled her against his shoulder, whispering words of comfort in her ear. This time though, it didn't help much at all. She just stared at the ground, too lost in her own thoughts to pay much attention to what he was saying.

 _He needs to know, they're his eggs too!_ Cynder internally scolded herself, _I can't keep this a secret, it wouldn't be fair. Just tell him already, for ancestors sake!_

"Is this something to do with those medicines you've been taking?" Spyro whispered quietly a second or two later, humming deeply in his throat as she moved closer to nuzzle underneath his chin. "I didn't want to ask before, but is there something more seriously wrong with you, Cynder? Are you sick or... or ill? Sparx told me yesterday that you haven't been feeling well since I've been away, and I-"

"-No, I'm not sick, I'm... I... " Cynder quickly stammered in an attempt to cut him off, but soon found herself falling silent again as a sudden revelation popped into her mind now that Spyro had mentioned the word 'medicine'. At once she felt some previously dormant protective instinct flaring up inside of her, and without pausing to think, she abruptly leapt to her feet, desperately tearing herself away from Spyro's embrace as fast as she could.

 _Ancestors, I've been taking all of those medicines the doctors gave me, haven't I?_ Cynder mentally despaired. _What if... what if I've been doing it wrong this whole time? What if I've done something to hurt the eggs without realising? Oh ancestors, I need to know if they're okay! I have to find someone who can help me!_

Standing there shaking, Cynder began to pant heavily as she struggled to remain calm in the face of this new uncertainty. Her mate just hovered a few paces away, seemingly unsure of what to do. Eventually though, he took a few steps closer to her. The second that his outstretched paw touched hers though, she suddenly flinched violently and leapt away from him, gasping loudly.

"Hey, it's okay!" He tried to say, "Whatever it is, we can...-"

"We have to go to the temple, right now!" Cynder abruptly asserted, pawing nervously at the carpet several times. His brow narrowed deeply in confusion to this statement, but there was really no time to explain. The longer they delayed, the worse things could be!

"Let's go, come on!" She whined, turning to move towards the front door with such an urgency that it actually surprised her. The second that she did this however, Spyro dashed forwards with surprising speed and stood on her tail, making her stop at once. It didn't hurt all that much, but it did make her growl in frustration and turn to face him with a determined scowl, something that only seemed to make him look even more worried than before.

"Cynder, what the heck is going on?" Spyro suddenly snapped, raising his voice slightly. "Just calm down for a minute and talk to me, please! This is exactly why I'm worried, you're not behaving like yourself! I want to help you, but you're not making it easy!"

"You can help us both by doing as I say, Spyro!" She retorted sharply, snatching her tail back from his grasp quite easily. The hurt look on his expression as she did this made her gut twist uncomfortably though, and so she took a deep and steadying breath to try and calm herself. He was only trying to help her, after all.

Trotting to his side then, she leaned forwards to meet his snout in a brief nuzzle, an act which he reciprocated quite willingly. He was shaking slightly too, and it made her feel more just than a little guilty to realise that he was getting worked up as well. Making him feel like this was the last thing that she wanted.

"Please, this is more important than you know..." Cynder begged more softly, clutching one of his forepaws tightly. His eyes widened imploringly and she simply let out a long sigh. "I promise I'll tell you everything soon, but we really need to find someone who can help me first, okay? We can't just sit here Spyro, we really don't have the time. So please, let's just go..."

The purple dragon drew his head back slightly at this point, and the two of them simply stared at each other for a few short moments. He must have seen the panic and fear in her eyes, because his expression fairly quickly fell to one of understanding and sympathy. Humming softly in reassurance, he nuzzled against her cheek once more, an act for which she was most grateful.

"You.. you trust me, right? I... I'm sorry if I'm not making any sense..." Cynder mumbled rather croakily, rubbing her eyes clear with a paw. He simply reached forwards and kissed her on the forehead, smiling weakly in return.

"Of course I trust you, you know that." He replied tenderly, squeezing her paw affectionately. "If you want to go to the temple, then that's where we'll go..."

* * *

The journey across the bustling cityscape was a short one, but even still, Cynder didn't dare slow the reckless pace she was setting for even a second. The two of them had ran almost the entire way there, and despite her stomach churning uncomfortably with that all too familiar nausea, she forced herself onwards anyway, determined to find someone who could help her. Their paws drummed at the cobblestones underneath with such urgency that many of the other dragons headed in the same direction only just barely managed to step out of the way in time, many of them yelling out in alarm in the process.

"Watch it!" An elderly fire dragon scowled, having to nearly leap into the air to avoid them.

"You'll take someone's eye out running like that!" Came another yelp of indignant protest from another dragon, fixing both of them with a harsh stare as they thundered past.

To put it simply though, Cynder didn't really care about anyone else right now. Her only concern was for the wellbeing of her eggs, nothing else really mattered. She had to make sure that they were seen by a specialist as soon as possible, and that meant going to the hatchery- there really was nowhere else _to_ go. She only hoped that someone would be available to see her at this sort of early hour, because if not, she wouldn't have the faintest idea on where else to turn to.

So far Spyro had been following closely behind without complaint on this little excursion, thankfully, but when they finally started to meet the morning rush of all of the other creatures in the main atrium once inside, their progress rather frustratingly started to slow. She heard him groaning in irritance from nearby.

"Is it always this busy? Ancestors, how are we supposed to get anywhere like this?" He frowned, tapping her flank with an outstretched wing to get her to stop for a second. She regarded him with an impatient scowl. "Can we get to where we're going any other way, Cynder?" He asked. "We'll be stuck here for hours in all this mess..."

"No, we can't. This _is_ the fastest way." She hissed curtly in reply. "Just follow my lead, we'll be fine!"

With that, Cynder set off again, darting gracefully through the narrow gaps between the surging crowds of dragons, moles and cheetahs, almost as if they weren't even there to begin with. Her mind was racing at the same speed as her body, a million thoughts and worries churning around, spurring her to go faster. She took risks she wouldn't normally have done, occasionally resorting to diving into the shadows to avoid colliding with someone at the very last second. Every beat of her heart came with a ferocity she had never experienced before, her breaths coming in short, sharp pants.

 _Oh ancestors, please let the eggs be okay, please..._

"Cynder! Slow down for a second!" Spyro pleaded in exasperation eventually though, causing her to falter as soon as she realised he had been left behind. Snapping her head around abruptly, it quickly became apparent that Spyro was struggling to gain much headway with his larger bulk and comparatively slower movements. He didn't have the same advantage of being able to phase into the shadows, something that in her mad panic, she had completely overlooked.

"Hurry up!" She out yelled in frustration nevertheless, tapping her tail on the ground impatiently as he tried to catch up.

Spyro's mistake, Cynder soon realised after a few seconds of staring, was that he was being a little _too_ courteous, not simply forcing his way forwards like everyone else was doing. She tried to hide her aggravation but it was a difficult thing to do considering urgency of what they were trying to do. As soon as he finally reached her side a few short moments later, Cynder promptly wrapped her tail around one of his forepaws and started forcefully dragging him forwards from then on, something which he apparently found most amusing.

"Hey, what's the hurry?" He chuckled light heartedly, trying to inject a little humour into the situation. "You still haven't told me what we're doing, you know!"

Cynder only sighed in reply and tugged harder, head-butting a few other dragons out of the way when they stubbornly refused to make way. She could hear Spyro gasping in alarm at these actions, but she didn't really care about that, either. At any other time perhaps she might have been more patient, but right now, there really was no time to waste. Her eggs needed her, perhaps now more than they ever would, and _nothing_ was going to get in her way!

Thankfully though, as soon as they had passed the few elementally sealed doors and other security measures separating the main temple from the underground inner sanctum, the going started to get a whole lot easier. From all of her time spent volunteering down here, Cynder knew almost without thinking which way was the fastest, and she led Spyro through the confusing labyrinth of tunnels and connecting chambers with practiced ease. They were moving so fast that everything was a blur, and aside from nearly bumping into several surprised looking temple workers in the process, they met no further obstacles in their path.

It therefore took no time at all for them to arrive in the main chamber at last, where several of the more important offices and side-chambers essential to running the hatchery could be found. Even though both of them were still panting heavily with exertion, Cynder forced herself to peek inside each separate room as they walked by with wide and pleading eyes anyway, desperate to find someone who might be able to help them. She almost managed to do a full circle of the place before suddenly spotting something curious on the far wall that made her stop and stare. It looked like the doors on Aryia's office were slightly ajar, and at once, Cynder quickly found herself coming to a decision.

 _Ariya! Yes, she can help me!_ She asserted on the spot. _She'll know what I'm supposed to do!_

As Cynder urgently rushed forwards to look through the huge set of double oak doors though, it unfortunately became quickly apparent that the office was disappointingly vacant, and probably had been for quite some time, by the looks of things. There were papers fluttering around untidily all over the place as if someone had been looking for something in a hurry, but apart from that, everything was still and silent. Even the fire that was normally flickering away in the far corner had burned itself out, making it difficult to see anything in great detail. Her gut twisted with renewed concern and worry, and she pranced on the spot nervously, whining with unease.

 _Oh no, what do I do now?_ Cynder despaired. _Where the heck could she be?_

"Cynder, what are we looking for?" Spyro asked curiously at this point, peeking around her shoulder to look inside for himself. "Or... who?" He added with a frown, looking utterly bewildered. "I don't understand..."

In response to his questioning, Cynder simply kicked at the ground and scowled, flicking her tail back and forth with fresh agitation. She didn't understand either. Ariya was supposed to be here unless something urgent demanded her attention. As far as she knew, everything was fine when she had left the hatchery yesterday afternoon, it didn't make any sense!

"Hey, Cyndie!" A rather high pitched and excited sounding voice suddenly called out without warning, making both of them jump in surprise. By snapping her head around quickly, it quickly became obvious who it was, though. Several paces away and off to their left side, a familiar pink scaled dragoness was smiling happily in their direction. Her tail was wagging away quite joyfully behind her, as it always did.

"Ember!" Cynder gasped, holding a paw to her chest for a second as the brief lived shock of the moment wore off. "Ancestors, you scared me..."

Giggling with glee, Ember hopped forwards playfully as if to greet her with one of those usual wing embraces she loved to use, but then paused rather abruptly as she happened to spot Spyro standing there too. A look of alarm formed on her expression, but it was rapidly replaced with one of pleasant surprise a second or two later.

"Hey, is it 'bring your drake to work day', or something? How come nobody told me?" Ember grinned cheekily, looking between the two of them with those bright blue eyes, twinkling in amusement. In her peripheral vision Cynder saw Spyro smirking at their friend's antics, though he had the sense to stay quiet, thankfully.

"So anyway, what brings you guys here at this sort of time?" Ember asked curiously, tilting her head a little. "You need any help with anything, or...?"

"Oh! Yeah, actually, yes..." Cynder quickly managed to stutter in reply. "Have you seen Ariya, by any chance? We need to talk to her about something important, but we don't know where she is. Is she out somewhere else today, or something?"

"Nah, she's here, don't worry!" Ember happily responded, clearly oblivious to the way both she and Spyro were still struggling to catch their breath. "She's still over in the nesting chambers, I think. Some guys just turned up like maybe five minutes ago to take home a clutch that's due to hatch soon. You remember the eggs that nobody knew who they belonged to, right? Well it turns out they were Tornas' and Gale's eggs all along, just like I said they were!"

When Cynder didn't respond at first, Ember continued, getting rather excited, "You must have seen the two of them wandering around yesterday actually, they were right here when you were working, and-"

"-Ah! Got it, nesting chambers, thanks!" Cynder deftly cut in at that point, smiling apologetically to silence her friend before she went off on a random tangent, as she often did. "Sorry, but we've really got to be going, we don't have a lot of time. We'll talk to you later though, okay?"

Grabbing Spyro's forepaw in her tail once more, Cynder gave him a little tug and started walking away before Ember could say anything further. She heard Spyro uttering a quiet apology as they passed, but Cynder didn't hear the exact words, focused as she was on reaching her new destination. The powerful emotional cocktail of fear and worry continued to churn away in her gut relentlessly, forcing her onwards with renewed determination.

 _Faster, faster!_ She told herself, _Move it!_

"What was that about?" Spyro asked once they were out of earshot and around the next bend in the corridor. She simply huffed in reply and started walking even quicker.

"What was what?" She mumbled angrily.

" _That!_ " He said in a sterner tone. "She was only trying to be nice, Cynder! I know you said what we're doing is important, but _why_ is it important? You're really starting to worry me with all these secrets, I'm not even sure what we're doing here. Can't you just tell me what's going on already?"

Cynder must have sighed for the hundredth time since they left the house, rolling her eyes again in response to him. This wasn't a conversation she was planning to have with him until she knew the eggs were safe and unharmed. Anything else that they did in the meantime was just wasting time. Even if he _did_ take the news well, it would only delay them from getting where they needed to go, something which she wasn't prepared to risk.

 _It's for the eggs, for our children..._

At least anyway, that's what Cynder kept trying to tell herself; that it was for the greater good, somehow. It didn't make hiding the truth any easier though. Everything he was saying made perfect sense, and her gut sank heavily with a sensation of rapidly growing guilt and shame that mingled with all of her other anxieties in no time at all. The only way in which she could cope was to basically ignore him, as horrible as this thought was, and try and keep her mind busy on the task at hand.

Thankfully, after passing several more elementally sealed doors, the passageway started to grow so tight that they had to walk in single file, effectively cutting off all conversation anyway. The sound of voices talking nearby could soon be heard however, echoing enticingly from deeper inside the hatchery, drawing them ever closer. Cynder licked her lips in anticipation and swallowed nervously as she led Spyro towards where the noises were coming from. One of the voices down there was definitely Ariya's, and it seemed like it was coming from one of the few side chambers that were currently being used. The door itself was slightly ajar, and inside, she could see the faint flicker of blue scales reflecting in the firelight. Her heart skipped several beats, and she rushed forwards eagerly.

 _Almost there! Don't stop now!_

By the time Cynder reached the doorway though, the sapphire scaled dragoness was apparently already on her way out. They very nearly bumped into each other as a result, but Cynder managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time, both of them gasping loudly in surprise.

"Goodness Cynder, you scared me half to death!" Ariya quickly sighed in relief, holding a paw to her chest. A faint smirk of amusement tugged at her lips. "You should be more careful, dear!"

Dipping her head in apology, Cynder tried to smile in return, but it was a very hard thing to do, considering the circumstances. Her anxiety was reaching a peak of sorts, and her whole body was shaking terribly as a result. Still though, Cynder wasn't exactly the type of dragoness to easily give into such emotions. In fact, in a perverse kind of way, these feelings actually made her even more determined to just hurry up and get this over with.

"Ah, and of course Spyro, a pleasure to see you too, as always!" The elder dragoness also said warmly in greeting, her smile widening further still. Those two deep blue intelligent eyes looked between them both, seemingly uncertain of who to address when neither of them offered anything in immediate reply. The atmosphere of the moment started to feel slightly strained fairly quickly, and Cynder gulped nervously. Besides her, Spyro looked like he was trying to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

"Is there perhaps something I can do for you?" Ariya asked, coughing to clear her throat in order to break the awkward silence. "I take it you're not here to work, dear...?"

"No, I... I'm not..." Cynder admitted rather hesitantly, pawing at the ground a few times. "I really do need your help though, Ariya. Do you have a minute to talk? It's urgent, it... it can't wait..."

The sapphire scaled dragoness hesitated for a brief moment before nodding slowly in acceptance, though she seemed to realise that something was amiss fairly quickly.

"Of course Cynder, you know that my door is always open to the both of you." She eventually replied, her brow narrowing deeply with concern. "But dear, is there something wrong? Is everything alright? You look dreadful..."

Spyro looked at her rather questioningly at this point too, and Cynder simply sighed loudly, avoiding their gazes quite on purpose. She didn't quite know how to respond at first, but after taking a second or two to gather herself, looked back towards the older dragoness with fresh resolve.

 _The eggs, remember the eggs!_ She told herself. _This is for them!_

"I... I really don't know." Cyder explained succinctly, sighing again. "That's why I needed to talk to you. Could we go somewhere more private, though? If... if that's alright?"

If Ariya was surprised by this request, she didn't show it. Instead, the older dragoness simply smiled reassuringly and motioned with a paw towards the direction of her office, stepping off in silence. As soon as she did this, Spyro extended one of his wings in invitation as they fell into step behind her. Without even hesitating, Cynder quickly moved to lean against his side, gratefully nuzzling into his neck for support. He purred happily from the back of his throat in response to her actions, giving her a little squeeze of reassurance in the process.

"Hey, it's going to be alright..." He whispered softly in her ear. "Don't worry so much, okay? I'm sure everything is going to work out just fine, you'll see."

"I...I hope so..." Cynder mumbled quietly in return, though if she were being honest, she wasn't entirely certain. She really didn't have a clue what she would do if Ariya told her that something was wrong with the eggs, or that she had been doing something improperly. Just the very thought that she might have already failed at being a parent made her stomach twist painfully once again, and she started feeling almost physically sick with worry.

 _Ancestors, please let them be okay..._

Fortunately the journey back to the office didn't take long at all, and Cynder was unsurprisingly left with very little time to dwell on such thoughts. It was a mixed blessing though, because as soon as Ariya pushed open the doors and looked inside, she gasped loudly in surprise at what she saw. Pulling her head back sharply, the sapphire scaled dragoness quickly then turned to look at them with an embarrassed sort of smile on her face, her tail flicking two and fro rather uneasily.

"Goodness, I do apologise for this!" She chuckled a little nervously, "Last night was rather hectic to say the least, and I'm afraid I've left this place in somewhat of a mess! Just give me a moment and then we can get started, it shan't take long..."

Spyro smiled in apparent understanding to this reasoning and quietly said something in acknowledgement, though he shot Cynder a worried glance the second that Ariya's back was turned. All Cynder did was simply sigh in exasperation and start pacing impatiently on the spot, trying her very hardest to ignore the still ever present surges of powerful emotion racing through her body. She was feeling everything from fear and anxiety, to anger and despair, often all at the same time. It was getting nearly impossible to keep a straight face anymore, no matter what she did.

 _Why the heck is this so hard?_ Cynder internally pondered, falling to her haunches in a moody silence, a fierce scowl on her expression. _Why am I so afraid? This is nothing, we've been through far worse situations than this!_

Her gaze happened to fall to Spyro at this point, purely by coincidence. He offered her a sympathetic smile of understanding, but it was the calming look in his eyes that most affected her. She found herself staring blankly at him in return, getting herself lost in those wide lavender tinted eyes all too easily, almost as if she were seeing right into his very soul, laid wide open in front of her.

In that moment, she felt something change. It was like she now suddenly understood something that had previously been eluding her all this time, somehow. At once, she felt a strange sort of nervous courage building up inside of her, and before it disappeared entirely she sized the moment and leapt back to her feet, trotting quickly to Spyro's side. He looked a little surprised at first, but as soon as she nuzzled against his cheek, he returned her affections all too willingly, purring from the back of his throat in contentment.

"Spyro, this might sound a little weird, but I... I want to ask you something..." She rather shyly whispered in his ear, a warm sort of fuzzy glow fluttering in her chest, temporarily dampening her fears. She drew herself closer to him, gripping his paw tightly. Soon enough, the purple dragon nodded in response, if a little belatedly. He looked incredibly curious, most of the tension rapidly disappearing from his expression.

"Sure. What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Cynder fought back the hard lump growing in her throat and swallowed bravely. Squeezing his paw even tighter, she opened her mouth to speak, the words coming surprisingly easily, almost as if she had been reciting them for hours. In a perverse sort of way, she felt quite proud of herself.

"Do you remember what you told me yesterday, when you came to the temple?" She asked him quietly, nuzzling into his neck before leaning back to study his face intently, looking for any hint of recognition to her words. His expression twisted in confusion, though.

"I was in the playroom with all those hatchlings, remember?"

Spyro had to pause in thought for a few moments, but then simply nodded again in recognition several seconds later. A sly sort of smile tugged at his lips, and he raised an eyebrow curiously. Clearly, this wasn't something he had been expecting to talk about in the slightest. His head tilted, and he tapped his claws a few times on the ground, his interest most certainly piqued by this point.

"That looking after all of those hatchlings suited you, right?" The purple dragon queried. His eyes roamed questioningly all over her face, as if to search for further clarification.

"Yes, that's right..." Cynder purred, leaning her head against his shoulder. He chuckled in response and she felt his tail entwine with hers, as it often did with with this sort of close proximity. Letting out a long and pleased sigh, Cynder looked down at his paw and squeezed it again, her heart thrumming away fiercely in her chest. "Did you mean it though, Spyro? I... I need to know..."

"Of course I did." He replied calmly, promptly wrapping a wing around her body, a great big smile on his face now. "Why _wouldn't_ I have meant it? I was really impressed with what I saw back there, and so was Ariya. All those kids looked to be having a great time, and so did you, actually! I was really proud to see it, you were doing a great job."

Cynder slightly drew herself away to look at him in the eye rather sceptically. She tried to put on her most serious and pleading expression, but it was difficult to stop herself from grinning happily like an idiot at such praise. It really did encourage her to keep going, and the warm feeling in her heart started growing at a tremendous rate, quickly eclipsing her earlier concerns and worries in no time at all.

"R... really?" She stammered a little. "You... you mean that?"

"Yes!" He laughed, "But why are you asking about that now? What brought this on?"

Suddenly however, his eyes widened in unexpected realisation, and he looked at her with his mouth slightly agape. For a brief moment, Cynder's heart was in her throat. She waited with baited breath for him to speak.

"Wait..." Spyro pondered out loud, tapping his claws on the ground. "Ariya's right, isn't she? Did all this working in the hatchery make you think about having our own-"

"-Eggs?" Cynder quickly butted in, her breathing now more desperate and frantic than it had been nearly all day. Her mate, clearly surprised with this turn of conversation, simply nodded meekly. Both of them laughed a little awkwardly, but now, with her cheeks burning, Cynder leaned closer to his ear, utterly committed. A few choice important words were floating around in her mind; words that she now realised she should have shared with him a long, long time ago. Hearing him offer such support gave her the confidence to do what needed to be done, at last.

"Well, Spyro..." She continued with finality, drawing herself up slightly. Her voice was shaking with anticipation, but she forced herself to continue, "Let's just say that it might be happening a little sooner than we thought it would..."

* * *

 **AN: Finally! Oh gosh I am so sorry for making everyone wait this long! You have no idea how much I agonised over this chapter. Every word was a struggle and nothing really seemed like it sounded right after reading it back. I must have written the start and ending to this one at least 5 or 6 times before I was happy with it. Even now though, I'm still a bit sceptical as to how this chapter might be received. I guess I will probably just always hate my own writing no matter what I do, lol...**

 **Honestly, I've no idea when the next one will be out. Like I did with the last chapter I will add authors notes to the bottom of this one and on my profile to keep everyone apprised of how the next one is coming along, so feel free to check in now and again if you are curious!**

 **And yes, I know, I am a bad person for taking so long. I hate myself too. Next chapter as you might guess will contain some serious stuff, and we can FINALLY get back to some more cool plot things again! Horray! We might even get a few hints as to what's really going on out there in the realms and why the guardians are being so secretive, who knows...? :)**

 **Anyway, special thanks to my beta reader 7Sky for being so patient with my incoherent night time ramblings and actually convincing me that this chapter isn't as bad as I thought it was!**

 **See you next time and thanks for reading, whoever you are! Any feedback in review/PM is as always welcome, because I'd be the first to admit that I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to writing stories!**

 ** ** ** ** ** **Update 14th November: Wow, a whole month flew by and I totally forgot to write something here. Sorry...************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Ill be honest, I've been getting stuck again and frustrated time and time again, and instead of writing, I've been animating Spyro instead of writing. I'm still working on this story though, trust me!************************************************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Update 7th December: Nearly 5k words now, yay! And only a tiny bit more to do :D************************************************************************************************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Update 22nd December: Done! Just with the beta reader now. Finally... Will post as soon as it gets the green light :D************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************


	11. Expecting

Spyro could only stare back at her with wide eyes, finding himself totally and utterly lost for words, his mouth falling wide open in disbelief. He couldn't quite bring himself to take in the enormity of what she was trying to say at first, and for a few tense and uneasy moments everything fell deathly silent, neither of them daring to move a muscle. His gaze roamed desperately all over her face however, searching for further clarification with the utmost urgency, his heart skipping several beats in the process.

 _She... She can't really mean what I think she does, right...?_

"Cy… Cynder..." Spyro managed to cautiously stutter, his voice coming out as scarcely a whisper. His head was spinning, his mind rapidly filling with all kinds of crazy thoughts and ideas, and for a second or two, he wasn't sure what to do about it at all. However, considering the context of what they had just been talking about, there was really only one question that needed to be asked, clearly.

Tilting his head in a morbid kind of curiosity now, Spyro leaned closer, his eyes widening imploringly.

"Wh... What do you mean?" He stammered uneasily. "Are… Are you...?"

The faintest ghost of a smile tugged at Cynder's lips and she dipped her head ever so slightly in response, her cheeks burning bright red with what he could only assume was embarrassment, judging from her awkward body posture.

Before Spyro had time to consider what this might have meant though, she quickly reached forwards to grab his forepaws tightly, drawing herself up to meet his snout in a brief nuzzle. She was shaking fiercely, and almost without conscious thought he found himself returning the gesture in kind, his brow narrowing in both confusion and concern when she pulled herself away barely a second later, quite deliberately avoiding his questioning gaze as she did so.

"Well, there's no easy way to say this, so I... I guess I'll just come out with it..." Cynder eventually sighed, looking up at him with a weak and nervous kind of smile.

She gave his forepaws another quick squeeze before taking a deep breath, seemingly to steady herself for what was to come, and even though her next words came out somewhat croakily, those two bright green emerald eyes were filled with such powerful emotion that it compelled him to listen intently with baited breath. It felt like time had slowed to a crawl, and even though he saw her lips move, he didn't at first comprehend the meaning until a few seconds later when her words reverberated around inside his mind, almost like an echo.

"I'm... I'm gravid, Spyro..."

If it would have been physically possible for his jaw to hit the ground, it probably would have done at that point. Speechless didn't even come close to describing how Spyro felt at hearing this information. It was like he had been frozen solid at first, his entire body going rigid at once; his eyes nearly popping out from their sockets in both surprise and disbelief, and all he could do was just _stare_ , not knowing what else to do. His heart was racing like crazy in no time at all, every beat pounding away furiously inside his ribcage, his throat tightening so much that it became nearly impossible to breathe.

He eventually staggered on the spot and fell to his haunches, feeling totally and utterly overwhelmed, his mind struggling to form a single coherent thought for what seemed like an age. It was like he had just been slapped in the face, _hard_ , and he didn't know how to respond in the slightest. His mouth opened and closed several times in an attempt to say something, anything at all, but nothing came out. It was just too much to take in!

 _Gravid? She's… gravid?_ He eventually managed to ask himself, still very much in a state of shock, scarcely daring to believe his own words. _By the ancestors!_

Realising that Cynder was watching him with a guarded and slightly nervous glare now, Spyro quickly forced his gaping mouth tightly shut and looked up to her, his mind still struggling madly in order to catch up. Despite this initial confusion and hesitance, he soon found his expression morphing to one of wonder and amazement, the enormous implications of what she was telling him very slowly starting to sink in, bit by bit.

 _Eggs...? There are eggs inside of her, right now?_

"Oh my gosh..." Spyro finally whispered, his eyes widening even further, his vision rapidly blurring with tears that seemingly came from nowhere without warning. Everything was suddenly starting to make sense to him now, almost like the last pieces to a puzzle had just fallen into place right in front of him, and even though he couldn't see any obvious outwards signs of her condition when he looked, he didn't doubt Cynder's sincerity for a second. It just felt right somehow, in a way he couldn't quite explain.

With every second that passed shortly thereafter, a warm and bubbly sense of euphoria quickly began to build up deep inside Spyro's very being, and without even thinking he leapt up to embrace Cynder tightly in his forearms, a sound somewhere between a laugh and a cry escaping his muzzle as their bodies came together. Her head quickly found its usual place in the crook of his shoulder and she started squeezing back just as fiercely, several sobs suddenly and quite unexpectedly racking her body as she did so.

"I... I wanted to tell you so much Spyro, but I... I was scared..." Cynder tried to explain rather hurriedly then, before he could say or do anything more. Her chest was starting to heave and hitch with every breath, almost as if she were about to break out into hysterics at any moment, something which gave him great cause for alarm. "I only just found out about this last night, and I...I didn't know what to do! I am so, so sorry for not telling you sooner, I... I didn't mean to..."

Spyro quickly silenced her with a gentle hum of reassurance and understanding, admittedly feeling more than just a little unsteady and emotional himself right now. Whilst choking back on his own tears he simply pulled her even closer to his chest, not fully trusting himself to speak without turning into a pathetic blubbering mess. After all that would have been the last thing that she needed right now, of that he could be fairly certain at least.

Nevertheless, his excitement continued to grow unabated, any doubts or worries he might have had about this situation rapidly becoming eclipsed as yet another incredibly profound revelation suddenly came to the fore of his mind. As a result, his smile quickly grew so wide that it almost felt like his face was about to split in two, his tail wagging happily back and forth without restraint.

 _Oh ancestors, we're going to have little hatchlings! I don't believe it!_

Fairly soon, it all reached a point where he simply couldn't hold it back any longer. He laughed croakily a few times before crying out loudly with pure and utter joy, the sound of his exuberant elation reverberating all over the hatchery, leaving Cynder watching him in a stunned sort of silence as he pulled away to hop several times on the spot, his excitement very quickly getting the better of him. It felt like he was flying without wings, and he wanted the whole world to know it!

"I'm gonna be a dad!" He cried out giddily, completely disregarding the deep gouges his claws were carving in the soft stone flooring as he continued to prance on the spot, "Oh my gosh Cynder, this is amazing! I... I don't know what to say!"

There was a brief pause, but as soon as he heard the beautiful sound of her laughter ringing in his ears a second later, that was it. He just utterly surrendered himself to the heat of the moment, rushing forwards to embrace his mate tightly in his forepaws once again, simply wanting nothing more than to share his enthusiasm with her in any way that he could.

The tears quickly began to flow freely without shame then, both of them sobbing, laughing and crying all at the same time, letting it all out at once. It washed over them in waves, the combined outpouring of all kinds of emotions making them both very quickly forget about the wider world in general as they lost themselves in each others affections. It was simply beyond words, beyond description of any kind, this precious moment seemingly lasting forever.

The two of them could have probably stayed like this all morning quite easily, but Spyro soon found his mind filling up with so many questions and concerns about this situation now that he thought about it more rationally, that he eventually had to force himself to pull away rather reluctantly, looking down at his mate with a soft and tender expression. As she looked up to meet his gaze in turn, he could see that her eyes were still glistening with wetness, but also filled with such love and affection being reflected back at him that it made his heart feel like it were about to leap out of his chest at any moment. His entire body was shaking, but after taking a deep breath in a poor attempt to calm his racing nerves, he opened his mouth to speak.

"B... But, how...?" He managed to ask, his voice wobbling unsteadily in the midst of his confusion, "Cynder, I... I don't understand. When did we even...?"

The faintest trace of a wry and knowing smile tugged at Cynder's lips in response, and she even managed to laugh a little when she saw the look of embarrassed realisation forming on his expression as she whispered an answer in his ear, his cheeks feeling rather flushed in no time at all. He fumbled his words slightly for a second or two, but his curiosity spurred him to continue, regardless.

"I... I mean, you're sure about this, right?" He also asked, tilting his head slightly, "Is that why you wanted to come here? Do you think Ariya might be able to tell you...?"

Cynder's expression softened, but before she had a chance to say anything else, the door to the nearby office suddenly squeaked open, making both of them jump in surprise. Peeking out through the narrow gap that had appeared, a familiar sapphire scaled head could be seen poking out, a pair of bright blue eyes staring at the two younger dragons quite curiously.

"Goodness, am I interrupting something?" Ariya asked after a brief pause of awkward silence, apparently unsure of what else to say. "Is everything alright?"

In that single moment, it was like something snapped. Cynder's smile rapidly faded away and she scrambled hurriedly to her feet, wiping her face clean as quickly as she could, sniffing loudly a few times in the process. Purely out of habit Spyro rose to his feet as well, his brow narrowing in both confusion and alarm as Cynder's tail promptly whipped out to wrap around one of his forepaws, her suddenly fearful and desperate looking expression making his blood run cold with only a single glance.

"Come on, Spyro!" She hissed urgently, nodding towards the office and giving him a sharp tug at the same time, "We really need to go talk to her..."

Spyro blinked a few times before dipping his head in somewhat dazed acknowledgement, the million and one questions on the tip of his tongue vanishing into nothingness as he stared deeply into her eyes, the look of absolute terror hidden just beneath the surface frightening him back to harsh reality at once. All of a sudden, it all started to feel real.

So horrifyingly, terribly, _real._

 _Are we even ready for this?_ Spyro had to ask himself worriedly, the seriousness and immense responsibility of this development starting to sink in at last. His stomach churned uncomfortably as he only now started to understand the true gravity of what they had gotten themselves into, and truthfully, it terrified him just thinking about it. His stomach started to feel like it was being tied in a knot, his throat tightening so much that it was almost painful. He could barely breathe!

"H...Hey, Cynder, wait..." Spyro said softly in an attempt to do something to reassure her, but it was already far too late for such platitudes by the look of things. Cynder was already starting to walk away at a brisk pace, forcing him to stumble a few times in order to keep up as she half-dragged him with her. His legs felt very much like jelly right now, but he somehow managed to stay with her, thankfully.

 _Oh ancestors, guide us..._

"Come in, come in, make yourselves comfortable!" Ariya smiled warmly in greeting as she saw them approaching, though her gaze seemed to linger thoughtfully for a moment or two as he and Cynder passed the threshold together. Spyro chose to pay little attention to this however, instead taking the opportunity once they were inside to trot closer to his mate, nuzzling into her cheek in an eager attempt to show his support in any way that he could, meagre as he knew that it was at this point.

"Hey, it'll be okay, you'll see..." He cooed softly in her ear with a weak smile, trying his hardest to put on a brave face to conceal his own anxieties, all too keenly aware that anything he said to her would probably hold significant weight in time to come. Briefly pausing to collect his thoughts, Spyro then continued a little more confidently. "Look, whatever it takes Cynder, we'll make this work- I promise. I'm with you no matter what, alright?"

She turned to study his expression intently for a few moments before simply letting out a long sigh of resignation, nodding a few times in reluctant agreement, the faintest hint of a smile appearing on her expression. She began to lean into his shoulder, to which he responded by deftly resting a wing over her body almost instinctively, pulling her into a light embrace that elicited a contented purr from the back of her throat. As usual he could also feel their tails entwining together almost on their own accord, something which made his smile suddenly feel far more genuine.

 _This won't be so bad, right?_

After a short wait, Ariya eventually stepped inside to join them, closing the door to the office with a gentle flick of her tail as she did so. She smiled then, still apparently quite oblivious to what was going on, and gestured with an outstretched paw in invitation towards a set of comfortable looking cushions laid out on the floor nearby. It didn't take long at all for Cynder to get up and lead Spyro towards them, and once she was settled he quickly followed without complaint, sitting closely by her side.

"Well then, here we are..." Ariya sighed tiredly then, folding her forepaws as she sat herself down on one of the opposite facing cushions, her entire body sagging with clear relief at being given the chance to rest after what Spyro could only assume must have been a very long night indeed. She stretched out and yawned, a brief shiver of contentment running all the way down her spine as she did so, a pleased smile tugging at her lips.

"So, what is it that I can do for you?" She asked, choosing to cut straight to the point by addressing Cynder directly. "You said that you needed to speak to me urgently dear, if memory serves?" Tilting her head, she leaned closer, "Is everything alright?"

Cynder hesitated at first, but eventually nodded rather meekly, picking at the cushion underneath her paws anxiously, as if she didn't quite know what to say at first. She shot Spyro a brief worried look, so he carefully reached out to place one of his forepaws on top of hers in response, giving her a little reassuring squeeze as he did so.

"We, um... We need your help, Ariya..." Cynder began, looking back to Spyro for a moment to shoot him a thankful smile, then back to Ariya again. "Something's happened and, well, I... I didn't know where else to go, or... or who else to talk to about something like this, and..."

Ariya shifted her body weight slightly and lowered her head curiously, her expression quickly morphing to one of concern as Cynder fell silent at this point, the younger dragoness seemingly not sure how to keep going. Eventually though, as always, her stubborn determination won out in the end. Drawing herself up higher, Cynder eventually continued.

"Well, what I mean to say is that... um..." She chuckled weakly, fidgeting with the cushion underneath her paws for a short time before glancing back to Spyro one last time. With a simple reassuring smile on his part though, she quickly turned back to the elder dragoness with an air of finality about her motions, taking in another deep breath as she did so.

"Well, we came to you today because I think we might be, um... _expecting_ , Ariya..."

The complete and utter silence that followed this statement was absolute, and Spyro couldn't help but gulp anxiously as Ariya just stared at them with wide eyes, her mouth falling wide open in complete surprise and disbelief. For the longest time her expression was completely unreadable, but eventually though, the sapphire scaled dragoness blinked. Her lips slowly started to curl upwards in a hesitant smile, as if she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing, and she leaned closer still, her eyes widening rapidly in no time at all.

"Oh my goodness..." She whispered, raising a paw to her mouth, "Are you certain?"

Cynder simply smiled back and managed to laugh a little nervously, nodding to indicate that it was so. "Well I'm no expert, but yes," She replied, looking to Spyro with a soft and tender expression, "I... I think so, yes..."

Spyro wasn't entirely sure how it happened at first, but somehow within the space of about only a second or two, Ariya had managed to rush forwards and envelop both of them underneath her wings in a tight embrace, very nearly squeezing all the air from their lungs in the process. The only sound that could be heard was that of the elder dragoness' laughter, and after shaking off his initial surprise, Spyro soon found himself joining in without even thinking, the tension in the room vanishing at once as all three of them shared this moment of elation together. It felt like she would hold them like this forever, but eventually, she pulled back to release them, her eyes filled with so much emotion that it was nearly impossible to tell what she was thinking.

"By the ancestors, little ones..." Ariya chuckled weakly then, clearly trying very hard to remain calm and composed. After taking a deep breath to steady herself, she continued. "I knew that this day would come eventually, but I had never even dared to imagine that it might happen so soon! Congratulations, I am so happy for the both of you!"

Spyro couldn't help but feel his chest swelling with a strange sense of pride at hearing these words, a great big goofy grin pulling at his lips as he turned to catch his mate's eye for a fleeting moment before Cynder looked away, apparently feeling rather embarrassed by this whole situation. He simply laughed again as he felt Ariya leaning forwards to nuzzle against his cheek then, but when she moved towards Cynder a second later, it quickly became obvious from the way that the younger dragoness reacted by deliberately moving herself out of the way that something wasn't quite right. Her entire body posture was just off, somehow, and Spyro apparently wasn't the only one to notice.

"Oh Cynder, dear..." Ariya cooed softly before he could do anything, however, her expression morphing almost instantly to one of concern. "What's the matter?"

The black scaled dragoness hesitated for a short while before responding, her tail swishing back and forth uneasily, her claws digging tightly into the cushion beneath her feet. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but after gulping nervously she eventually spoke, glancing to Spyro for a moment, then back to Ariya.

"It's just that I… I'm scared…" Cynder explained, folding her wings more tightly against her flanks, a single shiver running down her spine. "There's just so much I don't know, so many things I'm worried about! I… I don't even know where to start!"

She was trying her very hardest to remain calm, Spyro could tell, but it soon became obvious that she was doing a poor job of doing so. Her entire body was tense, and she wore that same look of complete and utter dread on her her face that he had seen earlier that morning, instantly making Spyro's heart ache in sympathy, his brow narrowing deeply with concern.

"I mean, I only just found out about this last night, Ariya..." Cynder sniffed, kneading the bedding underneath her paws more forcefully now, her breathing starting to come in short, sharp pants. "What if I've done something wrong without realising? The healers have been giving me all kinds of medicines to take over the last few weeks, and I... I've been running, and flying too, and ancestors know what else!"

Ariya's expression softened immeasurably in sympathy and understanding at hearing this, and for a moment it looked as if she were about to say something, but before she could do so, Cynder suddenly let out a choked sob and interrupted her, the younger dragoness' eyes going wider than Spyro had ever seen them before.

"Wh… What if I hurt them…?" Cynder rasped croakily, her chest starting to heave madly as if she were about to break out into total hysterics at any moment, one of her forepaws dashing up to her mouth in horror.

" _Please,_ Ariya! I have to know that they're okay! I didn't know what I was doing was wrong!" She whined in obvious distress, "Oh ancestors, wh… what if they're…what if I… I..."

Before Cynder could get too carried away with this line of thinking, Aryia quickly stepped forwards and grasped one of her shoulders tightly with a forepaw, fixing the younger dragoness with an intense gaze as she did so, forcing her into a stunned kind of silence for a moment or two.

"Cynder, I need you to take a deep breath and calm your thoughts, dear!" The elder dragoness instructed calmly, but firmly. Her commanding tone of voice drew Cynder's full attention at once, and after seeing that this approach had the desired effect, Ariya's expression softened, her voice taking on a much more sympathetic and gentle tone.

"I know that this must all be so terribly frightening for you, but I promise, I will do everything in my power to help you..." She spoke soothingly, reassuringly. "All I ask is that you try and remain calm and listen to what I have to say. Try not to get so carried away, dear!"

There was a brief pause as she allowed this message to sink in, her sapphire tinted eyes glinting in the firelight as she searched Cynder's expression for some kind of a response. When none was forthcoming, she let out a brief sigh.

"So..." She then continued, a slight smile tugging at her lips. "Let's try and take this one small step at a time, shall we? Do you think you can you do that for me, Cynder?"

Cynder sniffed loudly and blinked back a few tears before rather sheepishly nodding her head in acknowledgement. Her posture was still tense however, and when she took a quick glance towards Spyro, the impression that he got was that she looked very much like a lost hatchling, afraid and alone, like she was right on the cusp of breaking completely. His heart twisted in agony at seeing her like this, and as soon as Ariya stepped backwards to give her some space, he rushed right to her side, no longer content to just sit and watch anymore.

"Hey, it's going to be alright..." He cooed softly, gently moving to nuzzle her cheek, a motion that his mate seemed quite thankful for. She let out a long and unsteady sigh then, leaning into his shoulder as he wrapped one of his wings around her body as well, giving her a gentle squeeze in the process. She was still trembling, her breathing incredibly erratic, but he could feel the tension in her bearing slowly starting to dissipate, regardless. He ended up offering her a weak smile and he gripped one of her forepaws in support, hoping to reassure her in whatever way that he could.

"Let's listen to what Ariya has to say, okay?" He suggested, tipping his head towards the elder dragoness who was sat on her haunches nearby, watching them both patiently. Cynder quickly followed his line of sight and opened her mouth to say something, but she hesitated at the last moment and remained silent instead, seemingly unsure of what to do. She looked back to him for guidance, but Ariya got there first.

"Perhaps it might be best if you started by telling me more about these medicines you mentioned, dear..." The elder dragoness prompted with a reassuring smile, leaning a little closer to catch her attention again. "Do you remember what they were called, or what the ingredients might have been?"

"R...Right," Cynder stuttered, pausing in thought for a moment. "Well..."

And so began the long and arduous process of Cynder being forced to answer a seemingly never ending stream of questions about her recent activities over the last few weeks, often in quite a surprising amount of detail whenever she was prompted to elaborate on certain points. She was shaky and nervous to begin with, certainly, but with both Ariya's and Spyro's encouragement, it all began to come out as a near unstoppable torrent of words once she got going- her more normal enthusiasm and confidence returning in no time at all.

Several times during this process Cynder had to take a moment or two to calm herself down, admittedly, but as the truth of what she had been suffering over the last few weeks gradually began to unravel itself at last, Spyro very quickly found himself with a confusing mix of emotions churning around inside of him as he struggled to take in all this new information. Even though she had told him most of what had happened since he had been away, she had been hiding quite a lot from him it seemed, and not just small things like her frequent visits to the temple healers, either. He was both shocked and dismayed to hear about the near constant sickness and tiredness she had been dealing with, as well as the various cocktails of chemicals and home remedies she had been given by some of the so-called doctors in an attempt to ease her symptoms, too. It was all coming as news to him, and the more that he thought about it all, the more guilty he felt about it.

 _Why didn't she want to tell me about all this?_ He pondered internally, scowling to himself, _Was it because she scared about what I'd think, or something? Oh ancestors, I'd feel terrible if that's what it was..._

Before he could think too much on these revelations however, the room suddenly and quite unexpectedly fell silent as Cynder and Ariya came to the end of their conversation, snapping him back to reality in short order. He looked between them both, feeling a little lost as a suspenseful kind of silence filled the room. Besides him, he heard Cynder taking a deep breath.

"Well..." Ariya eventually began, shifting her weight slightly, "From what you've told me dear, I don't believe that there's any major cause for concern at this stage, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear..."

"However," She continued with a note of caution, "I'd still like to take a closer look to examine you properly, just to be safe. I also have a few more final questions that I'd like to ask you as well, if you wouldn't mind?"

Cynder blinked a few times in response before letting out the breath she was holding as a long sigh of relief, the tension in her posture disappearing almost at once. She shot Spyro a weak and tenuous smile before looking back to Ariya, her expression one of stunned disbelief.

"You mean that I... I didn't do anything wrong?" She asked, tilting her head curiously. Her wings flared hopefully, and she sat up a little higher. "You really think they're going to be okay...?"

The elder dragoness simply smiled gently in return, moving a little closer.

"Let's just make sure, alright?" She replied, gesturing with her head towards a nearby set of unused cushions in the corner of the room, "Would you lie on your back for me please, dear?"

Cynder hesitated for a brief moment before dipping her head in understanding, hastily scrambling to follow this instruction after pulling herself free from underneath Spyro's wing. Once she was settled a second or two later, Ariya quickly went to sit by her side, those two bright blue eyes staring intently down at the younger dragoness for a short while before glancing up to Spyro, her smile faltering slightly as she met his questioning gaze.

"Actually, Spyro?" She asked, instantly drawing his full attention, "Would you be able to do something for me, please?"

Feeling slightly unnerved by Ariya's almost apologetic tone of voice, Spyro's brow narrowed in both confusion and concern, a million and one different worries and concerns coming to mind as to what she might want from him. Knowing that Cynder was watching him too, Spyro gulped anxiously and got to his feet. He walked towards them, trying to put such thoughts out of his head for now.

"What is it?" He asked cautiously, kneading the soft stone flooring underneath with his claws, "Is something wrong?"

Ariya let out a small sigh and looked to Cynder, then back to him again.

"Spyro, what we have to talk about next is very, well... _private_ , in nature..." She explained, her voice carrying a hint of regret, "So I think it might be best if you were to step outside for a minute or two to allow us to discuss it properly..."

It took Spyro a moment to take in what she was saying, but when it sunk in, he found himself drawing his head back sharply with indignation, his mouth falling wide open in disbelief.

 _Forget that!_ He mentally scoffed, _Cynder needs me, now more than ever! I'm not going anywhere!_

Before he could voice this sentiment out loud however, he was caught off guard by the sound of Cynder's voice unexpectedly calling out his name, quickly snapping him away from such thoughts in no time at all. He faltered then, lowering his gaze to look at her with a quizzical expression, waiting to see what she wanted to say.

"It's okay, Spyro..." She spoke softly, smiling bravely at him, almost as if she could read his thoughts. "I'll be alright- I promise. It'll just be for a few minutes, right?"

"B...But-"

"-Look!" Cynder sharply interrupted, rolling her eyes sarcastically, the slightest hint of a sly grin pulling at her lips, "I think I can answer a few questions by myself without your help, you know..."

Spyro wanted to protest further, but soon found the words slipping from his mind almost as soon as they came to him. He looked between both of them several times, hovering on the spot in uncertainty for what felt like an age. No matter what they said, he couldn't quite bring himself to turn away, especially after having seen Cynder in such a distraught state of mind only a few minutes previously. To say that he was torn would be an understatement. His protective instincts were telling him to do one thing, but his mind the complete opposite. He didn't know what to do at all!

"Spyro, I know that you care a great deal about her, but I assure you, she is in safe hands with me, little one..." Ariya said to him, gently nudging his rump with her snout to get him to move towards the exit. Very reluctantly, and after some further prodding from Ariya, he eventually gave in and began to walk with her, shooting Cynder one final worried glance before she was out of sight completely, obscured by one of Ariya's huge sapphire tinted wings as she led him outside.

"I'll call you as soon as we're finished, alright?" Ariya smiled at him then, to which he responded by simply nodding mutedly in defeat, falling to his haunches in the corridor outside the office. She waited for a moment or two, probably to see if he would say something, but when he remained silent instead however, her smile simply morphed into one of sympathy and understanding.

"Try not to worry so much, little one..." The elder dragoness spoke softly, "She's going to be just fine, I promise..."

Spyro let out a long and unsteady sigh in response, wanting nothing more to believe her, but finding himself already starting to worry anyway, regardless of her reassurances. As the door closed with barely a squeak behind him, it occurred to him that this was probably going to feel like the longest wait of his life...

* * *

 **AN: Oh my gosh, finally, it's DONE!**

 **So sorry to everyone that's been waiting for this chapter... I think the main it took so long is because I kinda figured this chapter would make or break the entire story, which is why I was so hard on myself for getting things to sound and feel "right". I hope I did a good job of it, but that's really up to you guys to decide, right? I'm really bad at self-critique, lol... D:**

 ** ** **Honestly though, every word of this chapter really was a struggle for me, so I can only apologise to the people who have been checking here every day for updates only to be disappointed. ( Yes, I can see you guys on the story statistics, don't think I don't notice you, I really do appreciate it! ).******

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **I mean, ** **it's been like what, 6-7 months? Too long :( ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **I know I said in the last authors notes that more interesting plot things would happen, but I really just wanted to get it out sooner than later, so that stuff will happen next chapter instead. Sorry. Besides, I guess this counts as interesting plot things too? :3************************************************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **As always, a big thank you to everyone who helped proof read and offer suggestions whilst I've been struggling with this chapter. You know who you are, I couldn't have done it without you! If anyone has suggestions for improvements or general feedback, feel free to leave a review or PM! This whole writing thing is still a learning process for me, so any critique is welcome :)************************************************

 ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **See you guys next time! Like last chapter, I'll put updates here in the authors notes to let you know how the next chapter is coming along!************************************************************************************************

 **Update 08th Nov:**

 **Sorry... procrastinating again. Been doing animations instead of writing and now I feel bad. Can't say for sure when motivation to write will come back, but I promise to everyone I'm not giving up on the story!**


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